Collaring the Muggleborn Kitten
by bushy-haired veela
Summary: Fleur sees a void in Hermione, and knows exactly how to fill it. Once the war is over, Hermione Granger will be hers. HG/FD SLASH. Story depicts a consensual sub-dom relationship between two women. Rated M for sex/violence/other naughty things.
1. Chapter 1: A Bloody Day at Grimmauld

_AN: This story will depict a loving, consensual sub-dom relationship, specifically kitten/kitty play. This relationship will be between two women. This story will move into the Mature rating as things progress. If any of these things offend you, then please feel free to hit the back button and continue on with your life. If these things do not offend you, then I sincerely hope that you enjoy my story._

_AN(2): This is an AU story, and I will do my best to clearly convey the deviances from cannon in my exposition and dialog. If I'm not clear about certain things, please feel free to let me know and I will either make an AN explaining things, or try to find a way to work it into the dialog. There will be moments when the characters are VERY OOC, but I will try my best to give these characters logical reasons for acting the way that they do. Also, I just didn't have the patience to try and bumble my way through Fleur's accent, so I chose to forego it._

_Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. Believe me when I say that if I did, many things would have turned out differently…Seriously, "Expelliarmus" against "Avada Kedavara"?!_

**Chapter 1: A Bloody Day at Grimmauld**

The first clue for Fleur came the day that Harry and Hermione apparated into Grimmauld with a bleeding Ron in tow. A loud CRACK had echoed through the dingy house, causing all of the Order members to spring into action, fearful that Snape had told Riddle about the house before his death. Murderer of Dumbledore or not, Riddle quickly determined that it wouldn't do to have such a willing turncoat in his ranks. Besides, with all of the Order ready and willing to shoot the dark man on sight, his usefulness as a spy was well and truly over.

The rush to the entryway didn't reveal a squad of black-robed Death Eaters, but the sight of the three bloody teens was arguably just as bad. Harry was weakly clinging to a shakily-standing Hermione, whose free hand gripped an unconscious Ron's shirt in a white-knuckled grip. Her wand was out and ready to fire, and it was clear that she was struggling to stay conscious as her blood dripped over one tightly shut eye. Remus, rather foolishly felt Fleur, attempted to simply walk in and talk to the weak teens. That strategy was quickly halted when Tonks's Auror-primed reflexes saved Remus from the over-powered _Reducto_ that Hermione shot at him in her panicked state. Right now, Hermione Granger was in full flight-or-fight mode, and having already done her running, she was now a trapped animal ready to protect her friends. Come hell, high water, or Voldemort himself.

_Well, that certainly got rid of Mrs. Black…_ Fleur mused as she watched the blast obliterate over half of the wall the hated portrait hung on. She quickly put her wand away, realizing that it would not help her here, and motioned to everyone else to stay back. The present Order members, leaderless ever since Dumbledore's death, willingly followed the Veela's lead and backed away toward the kitchen, lowering their wands yet keeping them in their hands in case the panicked Muggleborn witch needed to be taken down by force. Minerva, however, stayed with Fleur and quickly positioned herself on the other side of the door frame, so that booth could peer through the doorway into the entry hall. Fleur would have preferred the older witch to be safely tucked in the kitchen, but she knew that a familiar face of authority had a better chance of breaking through to Hermione than anyone else in the Order.

"Hermione" Fleur called in her most calming voice "calm down. You're safe. You're at Grimmauld. No one's going to hurt you."

"STAY BACK!" Hermione screamed, spittle and blood flying as she gasped for breath. "I SWEAR TO GOD, I'LL HEX ANYONE WHO WALKS THROUGH THAT DOOR!"

"Hermione, breathe. You apparated to Grimmauld with Harry and Ron. You need to let us in so we can help Ron. He doesn't look good, Hermione. He needs a healer." Fleur called back, appealing to Hermione's sense of protectiveness over her friends. She heard the fast, wet hisses as Hermione gasped for air through clenched teeth, knowing that the silence was a sign that the Muggleborn was beginning to calm down and think.

"Miss Granger," Minerva called, "it's Fleur and Professor McGonagall. You know that we would never hurt Harry or Ron. We just want to help you, but you need to let us in."

"I won't let them get hurt anymore!" Hermione angrily yelled back, though not as venomously as before. "You hear me?! I WON'T LET YOU HURT THEM!"

"Hermione," Fleur said, her voice sharp with a gentle sternness about it, "we're on the same side. You know that we would never hurt Harry or Ron. I promise you that we're who we say we are." Minerva arched an approving eyebrow at Fleur's shrewdness. If she could give Hermione an excuse to believe it was really them, then she would calm down and let them help her.

"Prove it!" The young, scared witch yelled. "How did I take so many classes in my third year?!"

"With a time-turner that I obtained permission for you to use." Minerva calmly replied. "After a month, I called you back into my office and we had a…conversation…about you getting proper sleep and eating meals."

Fleur's ears perked up at the word "conversation". The way that Minerva said it implied that there was more to the story than a simple sit-down. She filed it away for now. This was neither the time nor the place to sate her curiosity.

"When did we get separated from you all this year?!" Hermione was noticeably calmer, but they still chose to wait a bit longer before peeking around the corner.

"A week after Harry's birthday." Fleur answered. "Mrs. Weasley insisted on giving him a proper party with his friends. During the party, a patronus arrived from Kingsley saying 'The Ministry has fallen. Scrimgeour is dead. They are coming.'." As she spoke, Fleur couldn't stop the shiver that ran down her back. Even three months later, those words sent a cold chill down her back.

"…Okay, you two can come in. SLOWLY! Don't make any sudden movements! Harry's not the only one who learned some dangerous spells last year, and I have no qualms about killing Death Eaters!"

Fleur didn't doubt that final statement for a second. After almost dying at the Department of Mysteries, Hermione had become much less merciful toward Voldemort's followers than her peers. On the night of the "Hogwarts Invasion", as it came to be known, Hermione had saved Bill's life by banishing a silver knife through Fenrir Greyback's heart. The action was met with equal parts gratitude and fear from the Weasley's, but they ultimately chose to simply be grateful that their eldest wasn't dead or infected with lycanthropy. Whatever romantic feelings existed between Ron and Hermione ended that night, however. Sometimes watching your girlfriend kill someone with no remorse, no matter how evil that person may be, can just be too much for a guy.

With their hands up and clearly visible, Fleur and Minerva took slow and deliberate steps into the entryway. Hermione had set Harry and Ron on the floor and was now backed into a corner, wand trained on the two witches. Minerva walked over to the boys and knelt beside of them, feeling for a pulse on both. Meanwhile, Fleur continued trying to talk Hermione down from her adrenaline rush.

"Hermione, we need to get Madame Pomphrey in here to look at them. She needs to look at you, too. You're hurt badly." Fleur looked worriedly at the blood dripping from her free hand. She was certain that the odd bump in the girl's sleeve was indicative of a broken bone, possibly one that had broken the skin. Hermione likely wasn't aware of the break now, but once the adrenaline wore off, she was definitely going to be feeling it.

Hermione's wand wavered, and Fleur saw something in the girl's eyes that gave the Veela a clue to something much deeper than what was happening right now. For a moment, she saw a naked and primal fear in Hermione's brown eyes. In that moment, Fleur saw right into her very soul, and saw the girl's anger at the situation, at the Death Eaters, at Voldemort, and at herself. She saw the fear of what was to come, fear of the upcoming final battle, fear of her mission, fear of what "peace" would mean for her, and fear of what she was feeling in her heart. She saw so much physical and emotional pain, that it took her breath completely from her body. Pain that was constantly being hidden behind a mask of righteous fury, uppity knowledge, and forced courage and false hope.

Most of all, she saw the raw need in those brown eyes. The need for peace, for reassurance, for a safe place to hide. The need for…

…Fleur's eyes widened as the Veela within her sang in pure joy. Time seemed to slow. She became oblivious to the world around her. In that moment, Fleur Delacour made her decision.

When all of this madness was finally over, she was going to collar Hermione Granger.


	2. Chapter 2: This is a War

_AN: As some of you may have already noticed, this is a VERY different Hermione from cannon. However, I really feel like almost getting killed in the DOM should have been a wake up call for her that this was a war, and people die in wars. I'm not saying that she's not regretful at the thought to taking lives, I just feel like she would be able to rationalize it if she saw it as protecting Harry and Ron. I mean, that's what she's done all through cannon, and to me this seemed like a logical progression of that mindset. I hope I explained that well enough. Anyway, on with this chapter!_

_AN(2): I hate to spoil you guys with such quick updates, but I've finally got some time off of work, and I really wanted to write this story down. So, I'm going to try to crank out as much as I can before I go back to work, and hope that I don't hit a dead end. I really don't have a clear outline for this story, just an idea of what I want to happen. So, this'll be as much of a journey for me as it will for you!_

_DISCLAIMER: There's no possible way that I could own Harry Potter. After all, I still can't figure out how Harry was still the master of the Elder Wand if Voldemort killed him…_

**Chapter 2: This is a War**

Icy blue eyes stayed locked on earthen brown ones as Fleur calmly crossed the distance between herself and Hermione in four long strides. Hermione wanted to look away, but something about Fleur's eyes just made her want to look into the Veela for the rest of her life. The blue eyes radiated power and demanded obedience, yet they were also filled with gentle concern and…and something that Hermione couldn't quite place her finger on. Something used to see in her mother's eyes when she looked at her father from across the room, when they thought their studious daughter was too buried in her book to notice.

She started a bit as she felt a soft hand wrap around hers. She felt like she was outside of her own body as she watched Fleur guide her dirty hand, with its bloody and torn knuckles, down to her side. Her eyes were drawn to a faint birthmark peeking out from the collar of Fleur's top. It seemed so out of place on her otherwise flawless skin. The spellfire she took from the recent battle must have addled her more seriously than she originally thought, because all Hermione wanted in that moment was to press her lips against the blemish…

"Hermione," Fleur whispered, pulling chocolate eyes back up to her own. "I need to take a look at you, sweetheart. You're hurt. Bad."

Mutely, Hermione nodded as she watched Remus and Tonks gently levitate Harry and Ron into the drawing room, where hospital beds had been conjured to care for the wounded. Thankfully, it had not seen as much use before as it now did. Fleur carefully took her by the uninjured arm and gently pressed her palm against her back, wet with blood and sweat. Hermione felt herself being led into the drawing room and sat on a bed. Lost in her mind, the bushy-haired witch couldn't help but notice how her blood spread through the cotton of the white sheets.

Tonks and Mrs. Weasley focused on the two boys, whose injuries seemed more superficial than anything else, and would therefore not require a more experienced healer. Meanwhile, Madame Pomphrey moved to Hermione's bed and removed the girl's shirt in a series of much-practiced wand movements. Fleur wondered if she was so good at that spell because of the last war. Hermione looked dispassionately at her left arm, where the bone had clearly broken the skin of her forearm. Fleur placed her hands on the younger witch's shoulders and gently laid her down on the bed. Hermione followed willingly, too physically and emotionally exhausted to resist.

"Ms. Granger…Hermione," Madame Pomphrey said, "I can't guarantee that the bone will reset properly. It would be better for me to just remove the bones in your arm and grow them back. It will be painful, but it's the best way to ensure that your arm heals properly."

Hermione's only response was a nod. She was too far in her own mind to do much else. While Madame Pomphrey fetched the necessary potions for the teens, Fleur waved her wand over Hermione, healing the cuts and bruises as well as the minor break in her nose. Once that was finished, she ran some water into a bowl and started gently washing the dirt and blood from Hermione's torso and arms. Hermione looked at the Veela curiously, but allowed her to continue; she was just too tired to argue at this point. Fleur locked eyes with the younger woman; there was that strange look again…

"RON! Ron, are you okay?!" The two were startled out of their thoughts by the sound of Ginny running into the drawing room, Neville and Luna right behind her. With the war in full swing, Hogwarts had been declared closed until the conflict was resolved. As a result, members of the Order scrambled to find a safe place for their children to stay until Voldemort was taken care of. Neville, Luna, and Ginny had elected to stay at headquarters. If nothing else, they could help keep the place clean to keep their minds off of the madness taking place just outside.

"He's alright, Ginny," Mrs. Weasley assured her daughter, "he's just been knocked in the head. He'll be fine."

Ginny knelt between her brother and Harry, taking each of their hands worriedly. Neville and Luna, meanwhile, crossed the room to check on the one conscious member of the trio.

"You look like you had a very unfortunate run-in with three carnivorous dark nibblers." Luna observed in her other-worldly voice. Hermione couldn't help the small chuckle that escaped her mouth.

"Yeah. Three big ones." The bushy-haired witch wheezed. Fleur placed her head in her lap and washed her face and neck as Madame Pomphrey got to work on her arm. Her good arm reached out and gently grabbed Neville's arm. "Neville. Lestrange is dead."

The blond boys eyes flashed, and he grabbed her forearm desperately, unsure whether or not to believe her. "Which one?"

"All three of them." Hermione growled. "For all of his other faults, the traitor did make a very powerful cutting curse. One Sectumsempra cut through all three of them."

"Are…are you sure they're dead? You didn't just wound them?" Neville asked, desperately hoping that it was true.

"The curse cut them all completely in two." The tired witch replied in a steely voice. "I promise you, they're dead."

Neville stood tall as he gently but firmly grasped the witch's hand. "Then the House of Longbottom owes you a debt, Hermione Granger. My family is now avenged, thanks to you."

"I accept and acknowledge your debt, Lord Longbottom. I swear to never use this debt to coerce you into any actions that you perceive as dark or evil." A glow surrounded the two, sealing the promise and acknowledging the debt. Neville smiled, his eyes shining bright with tears of joy.

"How can I ever repay you, Hermione?"

"A glass of water would be a great start." Hermione replied, a small grin pulling at the corner of her lips. Neville laughed and nodded before walking out toward the kitchen. Luna smiled at both of the witches, that mysterious knowing smile that she seemed to wear often, before spinning gracefully and sauntering over to check on the boys.

That debacle finished, Hermione sighed in exhaustion as she relaxed into Fleur's lap and gentle ministrations. Fleur had finished washing her face, and was now gently working the tangles out of her long hair. She raised a curious eyebrow at the younger woman when she noticed a rather sizeable patch of red scalp where hair used to be.

"Bellatrix grabbed me by the hair when they first surprised us." Hermione explained. "I'm convinced this is a sign to just cut the damn stuff off until the war is over."

Fleur smiled. "Well, just ask me for help if you decide to do that. No need to just point at your hair and yell 'Diffindo'." She giggled a bit at the thought of Hermione with shaggy, close-cropped hair. In the back of her mind, she thought about asking Tonks to "model" some hair styles for the young witch.

Remus crossed the room to Hermione, concern shining in his amber eyes. "Are you alright?"

_Fascinating,_ Hermione mused as she looked up at the werewolf, _how three little words can mean so much._

Hermione was no fool; she knew was Remus was really asking. He had no doubt heard the exchange between herself and Neville, and knew that Hermione had been forced to take more lives. Despite being Hermione's primary supporter in the argument over whether or not to kill Death Eaters, Remus knew that a life was still a life. Even one as vile and dark as the Lestranges'.

"I think so." Hermione replied. "It's…getting easier." Her voice seemed both relieved and fearful of that fact.

Remus nodded, a pained expression on his face. "I'm sorry. I wish you never had to-"

"This is a war, Remus." Hermione gently cut him off. With a nod, she indicated Harry and Ron. "If they can't do it, then I must. It was hard to accept at first, but I can't let our movements be reported to Riddle. This is the only way to keep him from figuring out what we're doing."

Remus nodded. "You don't have to convince me, Hermione. But, I don't think that it's me you're trying to convince..."

Hermione smiled a sad smile. Her thoughts turned inward, and a deeply introspective expression crossed her face. Remus waited patiently; he could practically hear the gears turning in her head, calculating and weighing the outcomes of whatever thought had just entered her mind. Finally, she looked up, her eyes hard with certainty.

"Remus. We can't do this alone. Fuck Dumbledore's manipulations and plans, we need help to do this." Remus straightened up, ignoring Molly and Ginny's gasps at Hermione's statement against Dumbledore. For some reason, he knew exactly what Hermione intended to do. She was finally going to tell the rest of the Order about their mission.

"It would be best to wait until you've all rested and had a bite to eat. If we're going to go over everything, then it would be wise to have both Harry and Ron sharing their observations, as well." Remus advised.

"You're right." Hermione nodded. "Until then, take the moleskin pouch that Harry's got around his neck. Put it somewhere that no one will find it. Don't even tell me where you've hidden it. If Harry wakes up first, he's going to go all 'lone hero' and try to leave me and Ron here. I can't let his ego get in the way of our mission. We have an opportunity to take Riddle down for good, and I won't let him waste it just because he can't accept that Dumbledore's not always right."

"Hermione!" Ginny yelled, shocked at what her former best friend was saying.

"Be quiet, Ginny." Hermione growled. "You of all people know what Harry's bloody noble streak is like. We've been bumbling around all of England with nothing but two trinkets and a fairytale book to guide us, and I'm sick of it! We need help, and if Harry won't swallow his damn pride to ask for it, then I will!"

Ginny sat back down, properly cowed by Hermione's words and demeanor. She didn't like what had happened to Hermione since fifth year. She seemed so cold, since then. She would never accuse a person like Hermione of going dark, but she knew from the moment the brunette had been released from the hospital wing after her brush with death that something in her once best friend had changed forever. It was similar to what she saw in Harry after the third task of the Triwizard Tournament. The only way to describe it was "innocence lost".

"Remus," Hermione pulled her attention back to the exchange, "go hide that bag. And keep a close watch on the boys, Harry especially. I need some rest, now, but I give you my word that once I wake up, we will tell you everything."

Her eyes slid shut in a fitful slumber as a light shone around her, sealing her oath. Remus couldn't help the small smile that crossed his face. Everyone had witnessed Hermione's promise. Now, even if Harry wanted to run away, he couldn't do it without risking Hermione's magic and possibly her life. It was an underhanded tactic that Harry would no doubt be furious about if he ever learned of it.

But then again, this is a war.


	3. Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed

_DISCLAIMER: I still have no clue why Harry didn't just use his mirror to check on Sirius, or why he even took Kreacher's word for ANYTHING. So…nope, I guess that means that I don't own Harry Potter!_

**Chapter 3: Secrets Revealed**

The next few hours at Grimmauld Place were…interesting, to say the least. After three hours of nightmare-filled sleep for the three teens, Hermione had woken up just a few minutes before Harry. Once Harry was awake, Hermione told him what she intended to do.

Suffice it to say, Harry was not happy with this turn of events.

After much screaming, Hermione finally pinned Harry's small frame against the wall with her good arm and calmly told him in no uncertain terms that he was a fool if he thought three seventeen year olds could complete such a dangerous mission with no help. A few more growled reminders of what the three friends had already endured, as well as a very up-close-and-personal look at her broken arm, finally convinced Harry that maybe relying on his freakishly good luck wasn't the best way to handle the Horcrux hunt. Once Ron woke up and was informed of Hermione's decision, he accepted it without question. As far as he was concerned, Hermione was just saying what he'd been thinking for the past month.

And that was how the entire Order of the Phoenix (minus the members who worked in the Ministry, as they didn't want to risk one of Riddle's more powerful minions pulling the mission from their heads) found themselves seated at the massive dining room table, looking at the trio sitting at the head expectantly, Dumbledore's pensive sitting before them. Hermione sat at the head of the table with her healing arm in a sling, having been elected as the speaker for the three. Ron sat at her right, eating a small sandwich with pure delight on his face. Mushrooms and berries had nothing on beautiful whole-grain bread. Harry, meanwhile, sat at Hermione's left with his arms folded. While he may have thought he looked brooding and thoughtful, he mostly looked like he was pouting.

Hermione accepted the moleskin pouch from Remus, while Harry shot him a look of betrayal, and set it on the table in front of her. She reached in and pulled out the cursed locket of Slytherin and carefully laid it in the table. Everyone shuddered at the pure evil radiating from the piece of jewelry.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Hermione began, "this is called a Horcrux, and it is what's keeping Riddle alive."

* * *

The discussion lasted long into the night and into the early morning hours. After explaining what a Horcrux was and how it worked, Hermione made liberal use of the pensive as she showed them all of the memories that Dumbledore elected to share with Harry. Harry argued that this was "betraying Dumbledore's trust" in him.

Hermione rather sensibly pointed out that she didn't see any vengeful ghosts appearing to yell at them about broken promises.

By the time all of the "home movies" were viewed and Hermione had shown all of the trio's relevant memories of the hunt itself, including Harry's adventure in the cave with Dumbledore, all of the Order members soon had their own theories about where Riddle's Horcruxes were and how to destroy them. By this time, it was well past five in the morning, and it was clear that the exhausted trio was fading fast.

"I think that we should stop here and let them get some sleep." Remus stood, politely cutting off the brainstorming session. "I think we could all do with some sleep, in fact. Why don't we get some rest, and we'll meet back here after dinner tonight once we've had time to process and think on our own."

Hermione shot him a grateful look as everyone agreed, rising to either get some rest or have some breakfast, depending on their energy levels. Harry and Ron retired to their normal room together, while Hermione considered where she would be sleeping, with Luna and Ginny having taken up residence in her usual room.

"Hermione," Fleur whispered behind her, "would you like to sleep in my room? I have plenty of space, and I could conjure a bed for you…if you want me to."

Their eyes locked on that last statement, and Hermione felt something warm jolt through her body.

"I don't want to put you out, Fleur…" Hermione replied, testing the waters.

"Nonsense. It would be my pleasure." Fleur smiled, that strange look in her eye once again.

"In that case, I'd love to take you up on your very generous offer. Of course, I wouldn't mind a nice shower first." Hermione spoke with a confidence she wasn't sure she really felt. Fleur's smile widened into a full grin.

"Of course! I'll bring you some clothes to wear to bed." The blond led her up the stairs by the hand.

"Oh, I have clothes, Fleur." Hermione protested, holding up her beaded bag.

"Clothes that I'm sure are filthy." Fleur observed, making Hermione blush for the first time that night. "Why don't you go shower, while I take that bag and find you some pajamas?"

Hermione opened her mouth to protest, but something stopped her. Those eyes were just so…commanding. Rarely had she ever had someone challenge her in such a way, but she just couldn't argue with this woman. She felt the bag slip out of her fingers as Fleur gently took it and led her the rest of the way to the bathroom. She was gently pushed into the bathroom, the click of the door shutting bringing her out of her thoughts.

Five minutes later, Hermione emerged from the shower (since when had warm water felt so heavenly?) to find some flannel pajama bottoms and a gray t-shirt sitting on the toilet. She quickly dried and carefully put the warm pajamas on. Choosing to leave her healing arm under her shirt, Hermione slipped as quietly as she could into Fleur's bedroom. She carefully closed the door and turned around, and her heart leapt into her throat.

"Ummm…Fleur?"

"Oui?"

"Uh, there's only one bed." Hermione pointed out, rather lamely.

"Oui, you said that since you weren't putting me out, you'd be happy to share." Fleur replied, sitting up in her bed, a devious grin on her face.

"I…um, I meant share the room…" The brunette stammered.

"Well, you should have specified that, ma petite. Well, I'm too tired to conjure a bed now, so why don't you just come lay with me anyway?" Fleur patted the bed invitingly. Hermione couldn't deny the stirring she felt deep in her stomach at the sight of Fleur, in a revealing nightdress, inviting her into her bed. With a deep breath, she forced herself to stop thinking about it.

"I-um-I could just conjure the bed myself. It won't be any trouble to-"

"Hermione. Come." Fleur ordered, that look in her eyes again.

Hermione had no clue what came over her. It was like Fleur had cast the Imperious curse on her. She couldn't fight as her feet carried her to the bed. The urge to kneel by the blond Veela's bed was overwhelming, but she fought it somehow. Fleur noticed but was unconcerned; she would have Hermione trained up before too long.

"Sit." Fleur whispered, which Hermione obeyed immediately, sitting so that her back was pressed against the older witch's chest. Fleur smiled and carefully wrapped an arm around the Muggleborn's waist, careful to avoid her arm. Hermione relaxed and leaned into the taller witch, breathing in her scent. Fleur smelled like honey and mint, with a touch of something…beach-like.

Fleur rested her chin on the brunette's shoulder and held her close, humming softly to help her relax and sleep. The events of the day, as well as the past few months, quickly caught up with Hermione, and she was out before too long. Fleur smiled at the dainty snores radiating from the smaller girl. She trailed a finger along Hermione's neck; she couldn't wait for the day that she would fasten a collar around this tanned, soft neck. Perhaps a red collar? Or a blue one? She would have to find out what Hermione's favorite color was, before she made a decision.

She laid her head back against the pillows, closing her tired eyes and breathing in Hermione's spicy scent.

Would Hermione prefer a circular tag on her collar, or a heart?

* * *

Hermione woke from a surprisingly peaceful sleep, and the first thing she noticed was the warm hand rubbing her stomach in soft circles. She leaned further into Fleur's chest and just allowed herself to enjoy being held. Unbidden, she found herself purring softly at the feel of Fleur's hand against her stomach. She laughed a bit to herself. The purring, among other things, were permanent reminders of her little polyjuice adventure in second year. She didn't advertise her purring ability (or the heightened sense of smell and the burning desire to play with a ball of yarn), but she had long ago accepted that it wouldn't change.

"Mmmm, I love that sound." Hermione jumped as Fleur spoke softly into her ear. She blushed and consciously stopped her purring. "Don't stop, dear, it makes me happy to hear your purring."

"But, I, um…" She blushed.

"Shhhh, keep purring for me, Hermione." Fleur whispered, still rubbing and gently scratching the younger woman's stomach. Hermione blushed, but resumed her purrs, knowing there was no way that she could refuse the blond.

The war was still going on. Voldemort was still hunting them. The world was still in chaos. But for now, she was willing to forget about all of that. Right now, all that mattered was Fleur's embrace, and the safety that Hermione felt in this moment.


	4. Chapter 4: Slow and Steady Wins the Race

_DISCLAIMER: How could Fudge possibly buy that Sirius Confunded Harry and Co.? As far as he knew, Sirius hadn't yet managed to get his hands on a wand, and everyone still had their own wands. Surely he's not dumb enough to think that Sirius was capable of such powerful wandless magic? On that note, why the hell would anyone care that the Shrieking Shack was haunted? Hogwarts is haunted, and you actually see ghosts, there! Ugh, the inconsistencies of these books gives me a headache, so I guess I can't possibly be the owner…_

**Chapter 4: Slow and Steady Wins the Race**

It was close to four before Hermione finally found her way back downstairs to see Madame Pomphrey. The medical matron checked her arm and declared her perfectly healthy, before ushering her into the kitchen where Mrs. Weasley sat her at the table with a large bowl of chicken broth and some bread. Hermione enjoyed the light meal on her shrunken stomach, even if it meant hearing Ron complain about wanting "real food".

"Ron, if you tried to eat a large meal right now, you'd just throw it back up." Hermione explained between spoonfuls of broth. "You need to re-introduce your stomach to food slowly." Ron pouted a bit, but accepted Hermione's advice; she was the reason they were eating real food, after all.

Harry sullenly ate his soup in silence. Hermione rolled her eyes, realizing that he was giving her the silent treatment for what she had done. He would get over it, and maybe even thank her when he survived this war.

Once she had eaten enough to make Molly happy, Hermione retreated to the library, where other members of the Order were researching possible Horcruxes. She was there for the pensive, though. Something about the trio's recent run-in with the Death Eaters was bugging her…

* * *

"GOD DAMMIT STRAIGHT TO HELL AND BACK!"

Everyone in the house jumped as they hears Hermione's scream of rage. They then heard her footsteps pounding on the steps as she ran down to the kitchen. She flung the door open with a loud BANG.

"WE WALKED RIGHT PAST ONE! IT WAS RIGHT THERE, AND WE WALKED RIGHT PAST IT! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN! DAMN!" As the brunette ranted, she stomped around the kitchen, grabbing her bag and her wand.

"Hermione, what are you doing?!" Fleur demanded.

"I have to go back to Hogwarts!"

"WHAT?!" Several people exclaimed in shock.

"Hermione, that's suicide!" Tonks said. "After what happened yesterday, it's bound to be crawling with Death Eaters!"

"I have to take that risk! I need to go right now, or we may miss our chance!" Hermione raved, running out the kitchen door. Fleur quickly caught up to her and grabbed her shoulders, spinning her around.

"Hermione. You need to calm down and tell us what you're talking about." Fleur ordered. "What do you mean 'miss our chance'?"

One look in those icy blue eyes told Hermione that she had better behave and start sharing.

"There's a Horcrux in Hogwarts! We have to get there right now, Riddle's probably making plans to move it as we speak!" Hermione hurriedly explained, her face flushed.

"Wait, how do you know that?!" Harry demanded.

"And what were you three doing at Hogwarts?" Remus inquired.

"Remus, I'll explain everything when I get back. Harry, think. Remember when we realized that Riddle had sent the Lestranges to the castle to find us? Why did he only send three Death Eaters, unless he had a very specific area in the castle for them to go to? Otherwise, he would have packed that place with Death Eaters, so they could spread out and find us. And why did he even have alarms at Hogwarts for us to trip? Unless he was hiding something important there, like a fucking Horcrux! And it would be too tempting for a megalomaniac like Riddle not to have one of his soul storage pieces right under Dumbledore's crooked nose!" Hermione explained everything in a rush, still pulling against Fleur to leave.

"Wait, but you don't know what the Horcrux is," Fleur surmised, "how are you going to find it?"

"He'll have some Death Eaters there. To remove the Horcrux and the bodies of the Lestranges." Hermione deduced. "I'm going to bring the locket and see if it reacts to the Horcrux in Hogwarts. If that doesn't work, I'll get the information out of one of the Death Eaters."

Hermione's tone left no doubt in anyone's mind as to how she intended to get that information. Still, Remus couldn't bear to see the young woman he cared for as a daughter leave to take on who knows how many Death Eaters by herself. One look at Harry and Ron's green faces told him that they would be no help, but the steely look in Fleur's eyes suggested that she may be up for a little Death Eater "questioning".

"Hermione, at least let me and Fleur come with you." Remus begged. "I can't let you walk into a castle full of Death Eaters alone."

Hermione leveled a look at the both of them, one that was clearly weighing and sizing them both up. Fleur immediately figured out what was on her mind.

"We won't get in your way." Fleur promised. "We just want to give you some back up and cover while you're…talking to the Death Eaters."

Hermione looked into Fleur's eyes for what felt like an eternity. Finally, she nodded her assent. Fleur knew she would obey.

"Very well. Grab your wands and cast disillusionment charms. We're apparating into the Headmasters office. I don't think they've been able to get in there, with the password and all. Don't worry about the wards, they seem to be inactive."

"Wait," Harry argued "what about us? We're coming, too!"

"No, you're not, Harry. Unless you're eager to watch me question another Death Eater?" Hermione asked, eyebrow raised in silent challenge.

Both boys sat back down, remembering the sight of Hermione gouging Dolohov's eyeballs out with his own wand.

"I didn't think so." Hermione nodded. "Stay here. Keep working on figuring out what the last Horcruxes are." The trio walked briskly out the kitchen door. It swung back open with a softer bang this time.

"And, for Merlin's sake, make a damn list of what we've got so far! Seriously, why the fuck did he have to make seven of the damn things?!"

Remus's eyes twinkled almost like Dumbledore's on a good day. "Because seven is a very magically powerful number in ritual-"

"Shut the fuck up, Remus." Hermione couldn't fight the smirk that appeared on her face.

* * *

Hermione peeked around the large stone statue, counting ten Death Eaters standing outside of the Room of Requirements. She mentally slapped herself again for not realizing there was a Horcrux here sooner. Why would the Lestranges all go to the Room of Requirements? She and the boys had been in the Chamber of Secrets gathering basilisk fangs to destroy the locket with. The only reason they even crossed paths with the Death Eaters was because they'd also stopped by the Headmaster's office to grab the Sword of Gryffindor. While there, one of the portraits warned them that she'd seen the Lestranges pass by, searching for them. Not wanting to press their luck taking on three of Voldemort's best minions, they decided to hide in the Room of Requirements until the dark family left. Now Hermione realized that they probably could have just waltzed right out the front door, and no one would have been the wiser.

_Well, no use crying over spilled milk._ The brunette mused. _Now, how to handle these bozos? There's probably more inside the room, getting the Horcrux. If we can take this gaggle of dumbasses out quietly, we can surprise the ones inside._

Hermione's eyebrow quirked as an idea came to her. She turned to Remus and Fleur and pointed to all three of them. She then used her wand to make the motions for a silencing charm, while mouthing "Muffiliato". After that, she used her wand and finger to draw a door, and pointed towards the Room of Requirement. Thankfully, Fleur and Remus understood what she was saying, and they all prepared their wands. On the quiet count of three, they all poked their wands around the corner and each sent their strongest silencing charm straight at the door. Immediately afterwards, they each sent a powerful hex at the tightly-packed group of Death Eaters.

_Really, how moronic could you possibly be?_ Hermione mused as her Reducto turned one minion's head into a fine mist, following that smoothly with a Diffindo to another one's torso. _Standing in such a tight formation? Why not just hang a sign saying "we're idiots, please do the gene pool a favor"?_

Luckily, the group's fighting abilities were just as good as their tactical skills. Within about three minutes, there wasn't a single Death Eater standing. Hermione crossed the room to the door and, after checking it for curses, carefully and silently pushed the door open.

_Jesus! They seriously didn't think to "require" a lock on this damn door?! How the hell did Riddle manage to take over the ministry if his forces are so damned stupid._ She blinked in realization. _Oh yeah, because our ministry officials are even dumber. Ugh, why am I fighting for these people, again?_

The trio crept silently through the cluttered room, invisible and their footsteps and clothing muffled. They needn't have bothered, though, as the one Death Eater in the room made his presence known almost immediately after they shut the door.

"Why did he send me to get the stupid crown?" The whining voice of Wormtail was unmistakable. "At least he let me bring some guards with me, but why do I have to go get it? I don't even know where it is!"

Hermione looked at her two companions with a look that screamed "FUCKING REALLY?!"

_Jesus H. Maybe Riddle's a masochist and actually doesn't want to win this war?_ She mused as she sent a whispered stunning spell straight into Wormtail's back. They were still cautious enough to sweep the room for any other Death Eaters before cancelling their Disillusionment spells, but Hermione was becoming convinced that her eyes were going to roll right out of her head.

"Alright, seriously, someone fill me in on the joke, here." Hermione ranted, looking at her companions. "How the hell are we losing to these people? They're moronic, clueless idiots who are mediocre wizards, at best!"

Remus and Fleur grinned and said only one thing, "Baaaaaaaaaaa"

Hermione snickered. Yeah, the wizarding public really were sheep, weren't they? She sighed as she pulled out the locket, feeling it respond to the other Horcrux in the room. _I'm starting to consider just leaving Britain after this is over. Maybe I'll go to the Virgin Islands? That place is lovely. Or…maybe France?_

She stole a glance at the French witch beside of her. France was quite lovely; it had so many beautiful views…

* * *

Hermione, Remus and Fleur came through the front door, their faces hurting from their massive grins. They strolled into the kitchen, Remus whistling a merry tune. Hermione looked at the expectant faces of the Order, and simply tossed the diadem into the table. A relieved sigh echoed through those in the kitchen. Another one found.

"Oh, I brought you a present, Ron." Hermione said as she reached into her bag. With a flourish, she produced a stunned and well-trussed rat with a silver paw. "Hope this makes up for Crookshanks eating Scabbers in third year." She joked with an evil grin.

Ron stared wide-eyed at the traitor, only able to nod dumbly at her words.

"Harry, let me see your list." The boys obediently handed her the list they had made up of which Horcruxes they had managed to procure. She looked it over:

_Diary (Destroyed)_

_Ring (Destroyed)_

_Locket (Captured)_

_Diadem (Captured)_

"Okay, then that means we have three left to find." Hermione sat down and fiddled with the chain of the locket that now rested on the table. "Riddle seems to be using things that have great sentimental value as his containers. His school diary, his family ring, Slytherin's locket, and Ravenclaw's diadem. We've already figured that he's got to have something of Hufflepuff's, and possibly Gryffindor's."

"Could we…ask Peter?" Harry asked, looking a bit green at the thought. Still, Hermione's heart filled with a bit of pride in her friend. He was finally learning.

"I doubt we would get much from him." Fleur pointed out. "After all, how much would you tell a coward like Wormtail?"

Harry nodded, seeing her point.

Luna set a book down in front of Hermione, in it was a picture of a cup. "What about Hufflepuff's cup? It's one of the few Founder's artifacts that's still accounted for."

Hermione snatched up the book excitedly. "Luna, you're a genius! Okay, if he did use the cup, then where is it now?"

The group sat around the table, in deep thought. Suddenly, Harry looked up.

"Wait, Bellatrix! Remember when we ran into her, she was practically frothing at the mouth, screaming about the Horcrux! She was yelling about how they wouldn't need to be there if Riddle would've just given her that one, too! I distinctly remember her saying 'this one, too'! I wonder if Riddle gave her one of the Horcruxes?!"

Everyone sat up, an excited gleam in their eyes.

"That's a distinct possibility." Remus mused. "If he trusted Lucius with one, then why not Bellatrix? The question becomes, how do we find that cup? Bellatrix could have put it anywhere."

"Not anywhere." Fleur said, standing excitedly. "She would only know of one safe place to put it. A place where all purebloods store their most precious items. A place that only her master had ever been able to break into…"

"GRINGOTTS!" The whole table exclaimed.

"Of course!" Bill agreed. "The goblins have taken oaths not to betray their clients' trusts without just cause! As long as Riddle didn't attack them, then they have no reason to remove a Horcrux from any of their vaults!"

"Then that settles it!" Harry said, standing. "We need to get to Gringotts and ask the goblins for their help!" He started to move towards the fireplace, but was grabbed by at least three Order members before he took more than two steps.

"Harry, are you mad?!" Hermione yelled. "The goblins would never help us! Remember, they're bound by their oaths! And even if they weren't, goblins are only motivated by their own greed and selfishness. As long as Riddle doesn't attack them now, they'll continue to delude themselves into thinking that they don't have to get involved in this war."

"But…but if we could convince them that Riddle will kill them once he gets the chance…" Harry floundered.

"How? By pinky swearing that we're telling the truth? Goblins have no reason to believe anything that a wizard says, even if it's the 'Chosen One'." Hermione retorted. She looked at her hands, a grave look on her face. "I hate to say this, but if we want to get to Bellatrix's vault…then we're going to have to break into Gringotts."

A heavy silence filled the room at those words. Even if it had been done before, breaking into the goblin bank would be a nearly impossible feat. In fact, with one attempt already being successful, there was no doubt in anyone's mind that the goblins had beefed up their security since then.

A squawk took them all out of their musings, and they all jumped and drew their wands. On the window sill was a regal looking eagle owl. Its expression was haughty and it looked like a strong and well-fed bird, but that wasn't what drew the attention of the residents of Grimmauld.

No, they were far more interested in the cup it held in its talons.


	5. Chapter 5: Poisonous Allies

_AN: I know that, so far, there's mostly been war stuff in this story, but I'm not planning on making it the main background of this story. Granted, I don't plan these chapters out before I write them (hence the quick updates), so it's possible that that will change. Still, for now, I'm just going to assume that it will only take up about half of the story. As an apology for this silly plot getting in the way of your Hermione/Fleur time, I added some fluff at the end of this chapter. Enjoy!_

_DISCLAIMER: If I owned these books, then Hermione would have smacked Harry upside the head and told him to get his shit together VERY early on in the 5__th__ book. Since I do not, she didn't, and we were all forced to suffer through hundreds of pages of angst._

**Chapter 5: Poisonous Allies**

No one moved for almost a full five minutes, sort of afraid that the cup was some sort of hallucination, and would vanish the very moment one of them tried to touch it.

"No one touch that owl." Remus whispered as he, Fleur and Bill crept closer to the owl. All three of them ran their wands over the owl, the cup, and the letter tied to its leg. Amazingly, they found no hexes or portkeys. Not even an eavesdropping charm. To Hermione, that just made this even more suspicious.

Bill carefully picked up the cup and set it on the table, freeing the owl of its burden and allowing it to hop over to Hermione and hold out its leg. Carefully, Hermione took the letter, never breaking eye-contact with the owl. "Remus. Is it the cup?"

Remus shuddered at the very sight of the jeweled cup. "Yes. It's the one we were just talking about. How…convenient."

Hermione nodded and opened the letter.

_The Traitor told me the secret of your headquarters before his death. He told no one else because he wanted me to have an escape if I chose to take it. _

_I'm choosing to take it now. _

_The Dark Lord is mad with power and ambition, and I doubt that I will last long under his rule after all that has taken place. I wish to defect and get out of this war alive. I care nothing for my foolish husband and son. They have chosen their paths and I have chosen mine._

_I give you this cup as a token of good faith. After Bellatrix's death, I now have control of her vaults. I hope you have found a way to destroy his soul containers by now._

_I know what his last two containers are. I will tell you and even destroy the one I have access to, if you can guarantee my safety. Send a solid black parchment back with my owl if you agree to meet with me peacefully. If you do not respond within 24 hours, I shall assume that you do not wish to make a deal._

_I own Grimmauld._

_-Narcissa Black_

Hermione set the parchment on the table, where Fleur picked it up and read it aloud to the rest of the room. Harry and Ron looked shocked and a bit outraged. Remus looked concerned. Hermione was deep in thought.

"…Advice?" Hermione looked at the group.

"It could be a trap." Bill pointed out.

"Using a real Horcrux as bait? Quite a risk to take for a mere trap." Fleur observed.

"Why bait a trap like this, anyway? Clearly she knows where we are, or she wouldn't have been able to send an owl. If she told Riddle, he would be on our doorstep in a heartbeat. So, I suppose that means she's the only one who knows. Why would Snape tell Narcissa about Headquarters, but no one else?" Hermione mused.

"Who knows why that traitor did any of the shit he did? In fact, who cares?" Harry growled.

"If Snape did tell her with the intention of providing an out for her, then that lends support to the idea that this is a legitimate plea for help." Remus explained patiently.

"No. Not help." Tonks corrected. "A Slytherin doesn't ask for help. A Slytherin bargains for a better deal. Trust me, Narcissa wouldn't be offering this deal if she didn't have something to make it worth our while."

"Neither would she be offering if she didn't feel that we had something worth her while." Hermione agreed.

"How do you know so much about Slytherins?" Ron asked suspiciously. "You were a Hufflepuff."

Tonks arched a challenging eyebrow. "My mother was a Slytherin, boy. Not all Slytherins ended up following an insane, dangerous megalomaniac, and you'd do well to remember that."

Ron sat down, Tonks's unusual display properly cowing him.

"So…what? She just gives us the last two Horcruxes, and we let her walk? Simple as that?" Harry demanded, a bit miffed that they were really considering making a deal with the woman.

"It's never as simple as that, Harry." Fleur chided. "If we decide to take her up on her offer, then it will take extensive oaths from both parties to ensure that we can successfully work with her. Like she said, she apparently owns Grimmauld. She could easily throw us out if it suited her. Hermione, we need to be very careful with her."

"You're right." Hermione said. "This negotiation will need another Slytherin to be successful. Before we make any more decisions, we need to decide on whether or not we even want to pursue this option. All in favor of sending Narcissa back a black parchment?"

A clear majority raised their hands, eager to end this war sooner rather than later. Harry defiantly crossed his arms, while Ron sat, looking conflicted. Hermione nodded, the decision was made.

"Very well. Tonks, would you mind contacting your mother and explaining the situation? She knows her sister better than any of us, and I feel she may be our best bet at coming out of this negotiation on equal footing." Everyone noticed that Hermione never suggested that they would outwit Narcissa. Of course they wouldn't, Narcissa had been playing these political games for far longer than the rest of them combined.

Hermione grabbed a piece of parchment and charmed it solid black. She then tied it to the owl's leg and it flew off. To win the war, they were going to have to make a deal with the devil.

Hermione just hoped that she could live with the consequences.

* * *

Once the owl had been sent off, the Order sat to a silent dinner, each contemplating how these new developments would affect their chances of survival. On McGonagall's suggestion, Remus appointed a group to gather all of their intel and leads into one area, preferably a single box, and to make copies of it all to be distributed to a select few members. If they still found themselves the victims of a forceful eviction, they wanted to have all of their information out of Riddle's reach. Of course, the originals would be destroyed.

Arthur and the twins took the still unconscious rat into the cellar, where they caged him in a unbreakable cage and put a stasis charm around him. Even if someone took him out of that cage, they'd have to be able to cancel at least five different charms just to wake him up.

Tonks and Flitwick, meanwhile, quickly drew up a schedule of shifts for different Order members to keep watch in case Narcissa decided to sell them out to gain Riddle's favor. Before Hermione could volunteer to take a shift, Fleur gently took her hand under the table and look in her eyes. The brunette's mouth went dry and she relaxed back into her chair. Fleur smiled a bit, a pleased look in her eye.

Hermione tried not to think about how much that pleased look meant to her.

After eating, Hermione stood, claiming that she needed some more rest, so would be turning in for the night. As she passed the shattered remains of the three Horcruxes, which had been quickly dealt with before dinner, she picked up a quill and scratched on the list from before:

_Cup (Destroyed)_

* * *

Hermione slipped into her shared room, drying her hair after a quick shower. She stopped at the sight of Fleur wearing her revealing nightdress, standing beside the bed and looking at her expectantly.

"I'm not too tired tonight." Fleur said, looking at her with an interesting expression. "I could…conjure you that bed, if you want."

Hermione looked into the Veela's eyes, and immediately knew that this was a challenge. And she wouldn't be Hermione Granger if she could resist a challenge.

"Actually, I don't think we'll need an extra bed tonight. I find your company to be very…soothing." The brunette replied, her eyes meeting Fleur's in a playfully defiant gesture.

Fleur's smile was decidedly predatory. She would enjoy making this feisty Muggleborn kitten submit to her. Gracefully, she crossed the room. Hermione's nostril's flared as they filled with the blonde's scent.

"Well, since I'm so soothing to you, why don't you let me brush your hair?" Fleur offered, pulling a hairbrush out from behind her back. Hermione blushed as she took in the sight of the hairbrush, trying not to think about its other uses. That wide, flat back meant that the brush would make for a very effective-

"Hermione. Come." Fleur whispered, jolting the younger witch out of her thoughts. Fleur smirked. "Hurry now, before I find…another use for this brush."

As Fleur took her hand and led her to the bed, Hermione turned crimson. Had she known what Hermione was thinking? Surely not, she didn't recall Fleur ever mentioning having any Legilimency training. Then again, why would she mention such a useful advantage? Fleur sat on the bed and patted the space in front of her crossed legs.

"Sit." She gently commanded, smiling that predatory grin as Hermione obeyed. The blond began to gently run the brush through the bushy hair, smiling as the brunette started to purr again. "That feel good?"

Hermione nodded happily, feeling so relaxed under Fleur's hands. "It feels heavenly. About Narcissa, do you think-"

"Shhhhhh," Fleur gently, but firmly, stopped her. "We'll have plenty of time to worry about that tomorrow morning. Tonight, I want you to just relax and not worry about any of that."

"But, we have to make sure-EEP!" Hermione yelped in surprise as she found herself pulled over Fleur's lap and swatted three times with the hairbrush. It didn't particularly hurt, Fleur knew that her little pet wasn't quite ready for that, but it did cause the brunette to blush and close her lips firmly.

"Now, are you going to be good and relax?" Fleur asked, her hairbrush resting against Hermione's bottom warningly. Too embarrassed to speak, the brunette nodded bashfully. Fleur smiled and sat her back up and resumed brushing her hair as if nothing happened. "Good girl."

Fleur had to bite the inside of her cheek to keep from laughing at Hermione's red ears. Even without looking at her, she could feel her emotions rolling off of her. Embarrassment, shock, comfort, and even a bit of arousal. Oh yes, Hermione was going to be a wonderful kitten.

After some time, Fleur had lovingly brushed out every tangle and knot, and even started braiding the brunette's hair in a loose braid. She was mostly buying time. Hermione needed some to get her thoughts in order about what had just happened. Until then, she was happy to play with the thick, soft hair in front of her.

"F-Fleur? What are you doing to me?" Hermione finally whispered.

"I'm braiding your hair, ma petite. I know you do not care for girly things, but I would have thought that would have been obvious." Fleur knew what Hermione was really asking, but she couldn't resist teasing the brunette a bit. Besides, she wanted to get Hermione used to being open and frank with her. She would need it to be a good pet.

"You know that's not what I meant." Hermione tried to sound intimidating, but that was a tad difficult after you've just been spanked. "Why are you…being so physically affectionate with me?"

"Perhaps because it seems to be what you need right now, oui? Physical affection? Tenderness? Comfort?" Fleur looked at the back of her neck as she spoke. "Do you wish for me to stop?"

"I…no. No, I don't want you to stop." Hermione admitted. "To be honest, I feel so safe when you…when you do these things to me. I just…I just don't want…"

Fleur's brow furrowed at her stammering. Then a lightbulb went off in her head. "You're afraid of allowing yourself to care for someone while fighting a war? You are afraid to lose someone you love?"

Hermione picked at the cotton sheets and nodded, her shoulders slumped as though the weight of the world rested there. In many ways, it did.

"What color would you like?" Fleur asked, determined to lighten the mood. Hermione looked back with wide eyes.

"I'm sorry?"

"I'm done braiding your hair, what color ribbon would you like to tie it with?" Fleur asked patiently.

"Oh, you don't have to. I have a black hair tie-"

"Non!" Fleur replied passionately, causing a startled Hermione to jump. "You will wear a ribbon. I wish to give you something beautiful for your lovely hair. Now, what is your favorite color?" Fleur pulled out her wand to conjure the ribbon.

Hermione blushed, unable to fight the feeling of warmth that spread through her body at Fleur's words. "Um, well, I like pink and blue…"

Fleur nodded in satisfaction and conjured a ribbon into Hermione's hands. It was pink on one end, but in a gradient that gradually turned icy blue. Hermione loved it immediately, because the blue reminded her of Fleur's eyes. She smiled and handed the blonde the ribbon, nodding in approval. The Veela smiled and gently tied the braid with the new ribbon.

She allowed the brunette to turn around and face her, where she gently took her hands in her own. She frowned, they were so dry and calloused from her wand. Fleur squirted some lotion into her hand from her wand and rubbed it into Hermione's surprisingly small yet strong hands. The whole time, Hermione watched Fleur's face with an unreadable expression.

"Fleur…should we be doing this?" Hermione asked. "I'm likely very high on Riddle's list. I'm Harry's friend, I've been killing his minions, and I'm a Muggleborn. I could very likely die."

Fleur looked into her eyes. "You won't. You're too strong, too good. You're prepared to do what you must to survive. You will fight, you will win, and then you will come home to me with all of your injuries, and I will kiss them better." They both knew that she meant more than just physical injuries.

"…Am I turning dark, Fleur?" Hermione whispered in a voice so broken and fearful, that it touched Fleur in her very soul. Hermione looked at her with eyes bright with tears. "I've killed so many of them. And, God help me, I don't regret it. I'd kill them all again if I had the chance to go back. I'm a killer. What could you possibly want with me?"

Fleur took her quivering chin in her fingers and gently kissed her tears. She then guided Hermione's head to her chest and pulled her into her lap, rocking her back and forth.

"You're not dark, Hermione." The Veela said in a voice full of certainty. "You are a warrior. You would never harm an innocent person. You were right when you said it yesterday, this is a war. People die in wars, and those deaths are never pretty. Would you rather those deaths happen to Death Eaters, or to the people that you care for?"

Hermione burst into tears and clung to Fleur, burying her face in the blonde's chest to muffle her sobs. The older witch gently petted her head, whispering soft words to her and kissing her forehead. She continued rocking the younger girl until she felt into an exhausted sleep, having cried herself out.

Fleur gently maneuvered them under the covers until Hermione's head was resting on her chest. She wrapped a protective arm around her and kissed the top of her head again. She knew that Hermione would one day be hers, and when that day came, she swore that she would always protect and comfort her. Especially after days like today. As she played with the brunette's braid, a small thought came to Fleur's head.

_Pink and blue, hmmm?_ She thought with a small grin. _Then that shall be the color of your collar, ma petite._


	6. Chapter 6: Breaking New Ground

_AN: So, I decided to accelerate Fleur and Hermione's relationship a bit. If it seems like they're going a little too fast, just remember that there's a war going on. I don't doubt for a second that they would get caught up in that whole "I could die tomorrow" mindset that people often get when they rush a relationship._

_DISCLAIMER: Why the hell didn't James and Lily just make one of them the secret keeper for the Fidelus charm? In the seventh book, it's proven that you can do that. For that matter, even if Peter wasn't the secret keeper, who's to say that he couldn't just take Voldy to the area where he knew the house was, and just point at the area where the house was, and Voldy could have just, I don't know, shot a lot of really powerful Reductos at it? I can't answer any of these questions, therefore I must not be the owner of Harry Potter. It's just logic, after all._

**Chapter 6: Breaking New Ground**

Hermione's eyes fluttered open, and she groaned softly in equal parts pain and embarrassment. Her eyes were hurting from her crying spell last night, and she couldn't help but feel humiliated by it. She hadn't meant to get so emotional last night, but something about the way Fleur held her made her feel so safe and comfortable. She sighed, nothing she could do now but hope that the Veela didn't bring it up. She closed her eyes again, giving them some relief, and breathed, drinking Fleur's scent in deeply. She started drawing little shapes and figures on the taller witch's chest, enjoying the feel of being held and comforted.

"Purr for me?" Fleur whispered, making Hermione jump a bit. She quickly recovered and purred, her back vibrating a bit against the Veela's hand. Hermione cuddled closer, tucking herself in under Fleur's chin. They both closed their eyes and just relished the feel of each other's bodies.

"Hermione…do you want to talk about last night?" Fleur asked, gently testing the waters. Hermione's immediate tensing answered her question.

"Um…I don't…I'm not ready to talk about…I mean…"

"There's nothing to be embarrassed about, baby." Fleur gently said.

"There…there isn't?" Hermione asked, looking up with hopeful eyes. Fleur's eyes twinkled back.

"Of course not! No one outside of this room needs to know about you going over my knee and getting a spanking!" She gently teased, pleased when the tension evaporated from Hermione's body.

"What? No, not that. I didn't mean the spanking!"

"Oh, so you're okay with me telling Harry and Ron about putting you over my knee?"

"WAIT, NO! Please don't do that!" Hermione's face reddened even farther.

"Oh, did you not enjoy it?" Fleur asked, carefully sculpting her face into a slightly hurt expression.

"No! I mean, it's not that I didn't enjoy…um, wait, I mean…" Hermione stammered lamely. It became a bit of a game for Fleur, to see how red she could make her soon to be kitty turn.

"So, you did enjoy it?" Fleur asked teasingly. Hermione buried her face in the night dress, an eternity seemed to pass before the bushy head nodded. Fleur's heart soared.

"I'm sorry, I guess I'm kind of a freak." Hermione muttered, Fleur shushed her and rubbed her back.

"Shhhh, sweetheart. There's nothing wrong with you. You can't help what you enjoy." She reassured the embarrassed younger woman. She continued to whisper reassurances to the brunette until chocolate eyes finally peeked up at her. She smiled and kissed Hermione's forehead gently. "So, all teasing aside, did you enjoy it?"

Hermione blushed. "I think so, I mean, it was over pretty quickly." She laughed nervously.

"Would you like me to do it again? So you can decide if you like it?" Fleur offered. Hermione's face erupted once again.

"I…um…" Fleur smiled at the stammering girl and sat up in the bed and gently pulled her over her knee. Hermione followed willingly, blushing the whole way. Once the brunette was settled over her knee, Fleur gently rubbed her bottom, propped up against a pile of pillows.

"Shhhhh, just relax, Hermione." The blond whispered, her other hand resting gently on the younger woman's back. "If you want me to stop, just say the word 'red', okay?"

"O-okay." Hermione replied nervously. "But, what about the…the noise?"

A quick flick of a wand and a muttered "_Muffiliato_" took care of that worry. Hermione relaxed a bit more…well, as much as one can relax when over another woman's knee. She buried her face in the cotton sheets, waiting nervously. Fleur continued rubbing her bottom, waiting for her to relax. Finally, the brunette relaxed, and Fleur's arm raised.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Hermione squeaked at the first slap, which took her by surprise.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Fleur seemed to settle into a rhythm, which permitted Hermione to relax under the soft blows.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Hermione felt the impact of the gentle smacks, but more in the sense of feeling the weight of Fleur's palm against her bottom. It was an odd sensation, but not unwelcome.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

The brunette rested her head against her hands, closing her eyes and letting her senses expand outward, the rhythm of Fleur's spanks sending her into a bit of a trance-like state.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Hermione felt the warmth of Fleur's body against her side.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

The steady pressure of the blonde's other hand as it pressed against her back, holding her in place.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

The gentle force of the Veela's knees digging a bit into her stomach and her crotch.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

She then became aware of a growing warmth on her backside, slowly but steadily spreading until it felt as though it were filling her entire body.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Finally, Hermione allowed her thoughts to turn inward, reflecting on what she was feeling and how…good it felt.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

She relaxed completely against the blows, and for the first time in years, Hermione felt completely safe.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Smack. Smack. Smack.

Finally, Fleur stopped and simply rubbed the brunette's bottom through her pajama pants. After a few minutes, Hermione turned to look up at her, chocolate eyes shining. The blond smiled and pulled the smaller woman into her lap and held her close, wrapping a blanket around the Muggleborn. Hermione tucked herself under the older woman's chin and held her nightdress in her hand, closing her eyes and enjoying the feeling of being held.

"Well, what's the final verdict?" Fleur asked with a smile. Hermione blushed.

"Yeah, I liked it. Although, I kind of expected it to sting more…" The brunette looked up at her with a genuinely curious expression.

"It didn't sting because of your pants. Now, if I had spanked you bare (Fleur grinned at Hermione's "eep" of embarrassment and arousal) then it would have stung more."

"Oh…" Hermione replied, a thoughtful look on her face. Fleur smiled and kissed her forehead.

"But, I don't think you're quite ready for that." The blond commented, to which Hermione blushed and nodded. "No rush, sweetheart. We'll get there when we get there."

The younger witch nodded her assent and snuggled closer to the taller witch's warm body. "I…I like this." Hermione admitted softly. "Being held like this. I thought this was going to make me feel small and powerless, but I feel like I could take on Riddle right now and win…does that make sense?"

"Of course it does, sweetheart." Fleur assured her. "You got an opportunity to let some things go and just enjoy something. I don't doubt that you feel lighter. As for being held, as far as I'm concerned, every time you get a spanking, you will always get cuddles afterwards." The blond grinned. "Even when you're getting a spanking for being naughty."

Hermione blushed, but couldn't deny the intrigue she felt at the thought of getting a "real" spanking. As much as she wanted to hide her face in embarrassment, there was something else that she wanted to do far more. Looking into Fleur's eyes, she could see the same desire, burning in a sea of icy blue. Unconsciously, she started to lean forward, and was pleased when Fleur did the same.

In a dark and dingy house, in a shabby bedroom, on a messy bed, Fleur and Hermione shared their first kiss.

Finally pulling away, Hermione hid her face in the blonde's chest and softly purred as Fleur rubbed and scratched her back. After a while, the blond gently roused Hermione from her relaxed state. The brunette whined in protest, clinging more tightly to her.

"Baby, we've gotta check on how things are going with Narcissa." Fleur reluctantly admitted. "We can cuddle more tonight, I promise."

Hermione sighed and reluctantly untangled herself from Fleur's lap. "You're right, duty calls. But mark my words," the brunette grinned mischievously, "there will be so many more cuddles tonight."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The group standing in front of the fireplace at Grimmauld consisted of Hermione, Fleur, Harry, Ron, Remus, Tonks, and Andromeda. Everyone clutched their wands hidden underneath their robes as they waited for the fireplace to flare up. For this first meeting, Andromeda would be doing most of the talking, but everyone was ready to fight if it turned into a trap.

"I still don't like this." Harry groused. "Making deals with Death Eaters? Pardoning them for their crimes? This isn't how wars are fought, Hermione!"

"No, Harry, it's not." Hermione agreed. "This is how wars are won."

Everyone tensed as the fireplace activated, almost expecting Voldemort to saunter into the kitchen. Thankfully, only Narcissa's regal form strolled through, brushing a bit of soot off of her robes.

"You can release your wands," Narcissa said with a calm look on her face "I give you my word that I will not intentionally harm any of you without just cause." Her body glowed, sealing the oath.

Harry and Ron released their wands, but Hermione kept her hand right where it was. After all, who knows what a person like Narcissa would consider "just cause". Narcissa noticed Hermione's lack of movement and raised an approving eyebrow.

"I'm here to bargain for my freedom." Narcissa announced, looking over everyone in the room. "I have no intention of putting any more of my time or energy into this foolish war, especially when I will lose either way. If the Dark Lord wins, I have no guarantees that I will be safe, considering the many ways that my family has 'failed' that madman. And if you win, then I will no doubt spend the rest of my life counting the stones on the walls of my cell in Azkaban. Lucius refuses to listen to reason, and Draco and my other sister are already dead. I have nothing here in Britain to lose anymore."

"Wait, Draco's dead?!" Harry asked, shocked at the news and a bit disappointed. He had been hoping to get a crack at the little shit that helped kill Dumbledore.

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at the boy. "Yes. I'm surprised that you didn't know that already, considering that your Muggleborn friend is the one who killed him, as well as Severus Snape."

All eyes turned in shock to Hermione, who straightened up and stared back at Narcissa defiantly. "I had no choice. They did, after all, kill my parents."


	7. Chapter 7: Bridges, Building and Burning

_AN: So, I've gotten a few comments about how intense and dark this story is. That's good, because that's what I'm going for! I do want to warn people that…well…shit's about to get real in this chapter. No Voldy appearances, just personal stuff. Fans of Harry may not be too fond of this chapter. Honestly, this wasn't my original intention for Harry, but characters often have a habit of leading the writer instead of the other way around. Like I said, some OOC moments for people. But, I stick by my original statement that the stresses of war can have some serious effects on people._

_DISCLAIMER: WHY THE EVER-LOVING FUCK IS A FORGED SIGNATURE AND A CONFUNDUS CHARM ALL THAT IT TAKES TO CREATE A "BINDING MAGICAL CONTRACT"?! If this was the case, then why didn't they make up some "I won't hurt anyone, on pain of losing my life and magic" contract and forge the signature of LORD COCK-A-DOODY VOLDEMORT?! I don't know! Why?! Because I am not the goddamn owner of this pile of blatant inconsistencies!_

**Chapter 7: Bridges, Building and Burning**

"You killed Malfoy and Snape?!" Harry roared.

"Forget that, Harry, those two deserved it." Ron said dismissively. "Why didn't you tell us about your parents?! You said you'd sent them to Australia!"

"Oh, you're right," Hermione said sarcastically, "I should have told you both about my dead parents who had been brutally murdered by people that I went to school with the day before I got to the Burrow! I'm especially sorry for keeping that from you, Harry, since I know you're gonna start bitching about not knowing that, too! Well, I hope the two of you can find it in your heart to forgive me for my terrible crime of not being willing to face the death of the people who raised me!"

Fleur gently grabbed the brunette's hand. "Hermione, focus. We'll talk about this later." She whispered. Hermione blew out a frustrated breath and nodded.

"Narcissa, I won't apologize for what I did to your son. But, I'm sure that's not what you're looking for." Hermione said, looking the Malfoy matron in the eye.

"No, it's not. …I apologize for letting that information out." Narcissa conceded. "I thought you'd have told your two sidekicks by now. Had I known you hadn't, I would have used it as blackmail material."

"Well, you still wouldn't have gotten far," Hermione bitingly replied, "the Order already knows that I'm a killer. They'll only be pissed that they won't get a shot at Snape."

Ron winced at Hermione's harsh words, looking guilty about thinking just that, while Harry looked a bit miffed at being called a "sidekick". A smirk tugged at the side of Narcissa's face.

"I'm glad you're helping coordinate this group, Granger. You understand that war isn't all glorious battles and heroic struggles." Narcissa said, looking at Hermione a bit too appreciatively for Fleur's taste.

"Well, now that you've caused enough drama to ensure that I won't be having a peaceful night, why don't we start ironing out the details of our terms for negotiation and then set our next meeting time?" Hermione nodded to Andromeda, turning the meeting over to her.

"Wait, I thought we were going to find out what the last two Horcruxes were?" Harry asked, looking confused.

"No Harry," Remus answered, "this meeting was just to draw up the terms of our partnership. We'll discuss Horcruxes at the next meeting."

"Indeed," Narcissa commented, casting a less than complimentary eye at the two boys. "Now, sister, let's have a seat and draw up this contract."

* * *

Writing the contract took the entire day. Both sisters couldn't slip a single thing past each other, but Slytherin honor dictated that they try. Hermione had to admit, it was educational to watch the seasoned pros go head to head. She could have done without Harry and Ron's complaints about how long it was taking, though. They were definitely not pleased to hear that no one could leave the room until the deal was made. Once they'd finally made an agreement, everyone signed the contract (after Hermione, Fleur and Remus each gave it one last read-through, of course), and Narcissa bid them farewell as she stepped back into the floo.

By then, it was well into the evening, and Hermione and the others wolfed down their meal before retreating to their rooms to get some rest. Who'd have thought that making a deal with the devil would be so physically taxing? Hermione stayed behind to thank Andromeda profusely for her help, and promised the fellow Muggleborn her wand if she ever needed it. Andromeda's only response was to assure the girl that she wanted the war to end just as much as everyone else.

"Besides," she mentioned over her shoulder on her way through the floo, "it was kind of nice talking to my sister again. I'm just glad that idiot husband of hers hasn't drained any of her intellect."

Hermione chuckled a bit as she wearily climbed the steps to her room, her body aching for rest. As she reached the landing, she slowly crossed the floor to her door before spinning around and pointing her wand at…

"Your middle name is Jean, not Jane." Harry commented coldly, looking down her wand. "You got pissed in fifth year because they miscalled your name, and you especially hated it because Jane is Umbitch's middle name."

Hermione's wand wavered, and then lowered. "Something you need, Harry?"

"I think you owe me an explanation." Harry said, leaning against the wall and crossing his arm expectantly.

"I don't owe you shit, Harry."

"I saved your life, you ungrateful-"

"I feel like over the past seven years, I've more than paid my debt to you for that troll." Hermione growled, rather irritated that everyone kept bringing that up, like that was the one defining fact of their friendship. "Hell, I'm pretty sure I've paid any debts I may have had to you over the past three months."

"…How could you not tell me, Hermione?" Harry asked. "I watched them kill Professor Dumbledore."

"And I saw them standing over the dead bodies of my parents." Hermione retorted. "Harry, I'm too damn tired to compare boo-boos right now. So, are we done here?"

Harry gave her a piercing look. "…What happened to you? You used to be a good person, and then you started murdering people. It's like you're going…dark."

Hermione straightened up, towering over Harry's small frame. "How dare you? I've spent the past three months cleaning up YOUR messes. Taking care of the things that YOU didn't want to deal with."

"THINGS?! Those 'things' are human beings!" Harry roared.

"Human beings who would happily slaughter everyone in this house without a moment's hesitation! You never minded my techniques when I was saving your asses! I didn't see you or Ron crying for the Lestranges' immortal souls!"

"That was different!"

"Why?! Because the 'Chosen One' was the one who's life was in danger?!"

"Because we were trying to escape! And Bellatrix would never have been able to be turned!"

"…Jesus, you really are delusional, aren't you? Fine, go back to your room, curl up in your bed and pat yourself on the back because you're the better man. Meanwhile, I'll keep doing the things that you don't want to. You may not like my role in this war, but you're going to have to accept that you need people like me."

"You have nothing that I need." Harry growled in a low voice.

"I guess you should have told me that earlier. Could've saved yourself a few years of not needing me around to save your stupid ass."

Harry pushed off of the wall and got nose to nose with Hermione. "I'm watching you."

"Go ahead." Hermione challenged, unflinching. "Watch me as much as you want. Just remember to thank me when I Reducto Riddle's head off while he's sneaking up on you to slit your throat because you're too busy watching me to keep an eye on the real enemy. We're on the same side, Harry. Get over yourself."

Harry glared at Hermione's back as she turned back to her door. Walking through the door, Hermione threw one last parting shot over her shoulder.

"How are you going to destroy Riddle without killing him, Harry? If the prophecy is true, then that's one kill I can't do for you."

The click sounded like a gunshot in the silent hallway.

* * *

Fleur came in from her shower and saw Hermione leaning against the windowsill in her pajamas, staring out into the London night. She would have come in earlier, but she had caught the conversation between the brunette and Harry, and knew that Hermione would need some time alone with her thoughts. Hermione turned around and smirked at the sight of the blonde in nothing but a towel.

"I think that's my favorite outfit on you." The brunette joked, her eyes warm at the sight of her…girlfriend? Friend with benefits? What the hell were they, anyway? Hermione mentally shrugged, she'd figure it out after the war. Right now, there was a freshly showered Veela that demanded her immediate attention.

"Oh? I don't know, I prefer…" Fleur dropped her towel, causing Hermione to swallow hard at the sight of her ivory body. "What do you think of this outfit, instead?"

Hermione crossed the distance between them, her nostrils flaring. "I think that if you keep wearing it, then I can't be held responsible for my actions…"

"Responsibility is so…" Fleur grinned an evil grin. "…overrated."

Their lips clashed and Hermione pushed the taller witch against the door with surprising strength. While there, the brunette quickly summoned her wand into her hand and blasted the most powerful silencing charm she knew on the door and the walls. "Maybe responsibility does have its uses." She muttered with a grin before diving back into the blonde's lips.

"Smartass." Fleur replied, pushing the smaller witch back so that she could slip her hands up her shirt. "You're wearing too much." She muttered as the pulled the shirt over Hermione's head, taking a moment to drink in the sight of her breasts before diving in and capturing a nipple with her teeth. Hermione backed up until she felt the bed against the back of her knees, then allowed Fleur to push her roughly down.

"This wasn't what I imagined when I thought of our first time together…" The brunette remarked as the older witch pulled her pants off and crawled on top of her. She growled low in her throat at the feel of their bodies pressed together, then looked up into icy blue eyes.

"Well, I'm not complaining." Fleur answered before capturing her mouth roughly, ravaging the Muggleborn's mouth with her tongue. Hermione moaned into the blonde's mouth, and Fleur responded with a gasp when she felt the young witch's knee push against her cunt.

"Hermione," Fleur whispered as she ground against her thigh, "are you a virgin?"

"No." Hermione responded, hissing as she felt Fleur's clit grinding into her skin. The blonde's clit was so hard, she could probably cut diamonds with it. "Lost it the summer after my fifth year. Be as rough as you want."

"Good." Fleur growled before roughly flipping the brunette over and pushing her up the bed until she reached the headboard. With one hand holding Hermione still, Fleur reached into the nightstand and pulled out a strap-on. "Was your first time rough? Did it leave bruises and marks on your skin? Did you have to walk around hiding bite marks and hickeys?"

"Mmmmmmm, no." Hermione replied, grinding her hips into the mattress as Fleur strapped the dildo on. "She wanted to be gentle with me for my first time. It did get pretty rough after that, though. But, I never had to hide any marks."

"Shame." Fleur commented, rubbing the tip against the brunette. "Guess you'll have to learn fast." She pushed into the brunette in one smooth motion, causing her to yelp and slide onto her hands and knees.

"Fuuuuuuck…" Hermione growled, gripping the headboard tightly. Fleur's strap-on was big. Bigger than anything she'd taken before. She was going to be sore tomorrow. Hermione groaned at the thought, biting down on a pillow to keep from screaming.

Fleur threw her head back in ecstasy. The dildo she was wearing was a special one, designed to allow the witch to feel pleasure as though she were a wizard. It cost a pretty penny for the numerous enchantments Fleur had on it, but it was worth every cent. "You may as well scream, bitch." Fleur growled, pounding Hermione in a steady rhythm. "It's only going to get better from here."

"Ohhhhhhhhh, oh FLEUR!" Hermione shrieked as she rocked forward with every thrust. Fleur's hand tangled in her hair and held tight, tugging at her scalp. She gasped and moaned as the blonde's nails raked down her back, leaving white marks against the tanned flesh. Fleur bent down and laid her body against the panting Muggleborn's, where she began to lick and suck at her neck.

"Hermione," Fleur whispered hotly against the sensitive skin of her neck, "I want to mark you. I want you to be mine. I want everyone to know that you're mine. Will you accept my mark?"

"Y-yesssssssss…" Hermione hissed without hesitation. "God, Fleur, what are you doing to me?"

"I'm claiming you." She blond replied before biting down on the soft neck before her.

Hermione shrieked as the sharp pain brought her over the edge. Fleur growled and pulled her up so that the younger witch's back was pressed against her chest, her quivering and spasming cunt bringing the Veela to orgasm. Fleur held on tight and kept thrusting as both women came hard and fast, calling out each other's names. Finally, they collapsed back onto the bed, Fleur's lithe form pinning Hermione down. She didn't mind.

"Fleur…" Hermione whispered. "I…I love you."

The blond smiled and kissed the bite mark, licking it to soothe it. "I love you too, Hermione."

It wasn't the most romantic of settings for their first time making love. Nor was it the most romantic of proclamations. But for the two of them, it would do.


	8. Chapter 8: When is a Fool not a Fool?

_DISCLAIMER: Okay, just hear me out, here. All I'm saying is, why couldn't Harry just put on a pair of earmuffs, walk into Voldy's camp, and pull out a mandrake? Hell, in the last book, he had the perfect opportunity! He walked past Neville, who was carrying mandrakes to fight the Death Eaters with! Dude, fucking GRAB ONE AND TAKE IT WITH YOU! You're gonna die anyway, why be a little bitch about it? Take 'em all out with you! Voldy'd be all "hahaha, the boy-who-lived…come to-"then Harry's all, "Hey, Riddle, I'm really happy for you, and Imma let you finish, but…" BOOM! MANDRAKE! DEATH ALL UP IN THIS MUTHA-FUCKA! …But, he didn't do that, because I don't own Harry Potter._

**Chapter 8: When is a Fool not a Fool?**

Hermione ran her fingernails up and down Fleur's spine and breathed in her smooth, clean scent. She grinned; she'd had a lot of fun dirtying the Veela back up. She didn't even mind how sore she was going to feel in the morning. Maybe she had a few pain potions left in her bag.

"Am I too heavy?" Fleur asked, her voice heavy from the afterglow of sex. Hermione was willing to bet that if she could see auras, the room would be glowing brighter than the sun.

"No, no." She assured, never ceasing her actions. "You're perfect."

Fleur smiled against her neck and nuzzled her lovingly. "You're pretty damn great, yourself."

"Five times in one night? I better be amazing." Hermione quipped with a smirk. Fleur laughed lightly in response, before maneuvering herself a bit off of her chest. She gently rubbed and lightly scratched Hermione's stomach, causing the younger witch to purr happily.

"What are you thinking about?" Fleur asked, knowing the younger woman must have a lot on her mind. Maybe talking about it with the French witch would help. Hermione sighed and began to absentmindedly run her fingers through the blond hair on her shoulder.

"I'm gonna have to show everyone the memory of the day my parents died." She whispered in a thick voice. "They'll want to know for a fact that Snape and Malfoy are dead. Ron will, at least, be happy to see that Dumbledore's murderers are gone for good."

"What about Harry?" Fleur inquired.

"Fuck him." Hermione growled low in her throat.

"I'd rather that you didn't. Now that I know how you are in bed, I'm not particularly eager to share you with anyone else." Fleur replied with a smirk. Hermione looked at her for a moment, before covering her snickering mouth with one hand, causing Fleur to giggle as well. After a while, they finally calmed down and cuddled back up.

"This memory's not going to help my image with the Order." Hermione sighed. "Harry already thinks I'm going dark, and he's probably run his mouth to Ron, Ginny, Luna and Neville. Who knows how many other Order members know that their 'savior' doesn't trust me."

"If they accept Harry's word for it, then they are fools who deserve to be led by a fool." Fleur declared hotly. "The ones who have sense will know that your actions have ensured that Riddle has less Death Eaters to fight with. Yes, he'll recruit more, but you've been taking out his far more skilled minions. Whether the Weasley's want to admit it or not, you killing Fenrir saved Bill's life and cut off Riddle's most trustworthy link to the werewolves. I know Bill feels that he owes you his life. He doesn't feel like you're going dark, and neither do I."

"Thanks, Fleur." Hermione whispered, eyes shining. "That means a lot to me. I…I never want you to feel afraid of me. I would never hurt you."

"I know." Fleur replied with such conviction, such certainty, that Hermione couldn't stop the tears from falling. Fleur gently kissed them away, pouring all of her love into every kiss. Then, she slowly kissed her way down the brunette's body.

"Ohhh…Fleur, I don't know if I can go again." Hermione whimpered cutely. "I'm already gonna be so sore tomorrow…"

"Shhhh, then let me kiss it better." Fleur whispered, gently taking a nipple in her mouth. "I want to make you mine, Hermione. I want you to only think of me, during the rough sex and the gentle sex." She licked her way down the tanned stomach before her, swirling her tongue in Hermione's naval.

"I don't just want to own you," she said, kissing her naval and continuing her way down to her pelvic bone, "I want to love you and comfort you. I want you to feel safe and secure with me." She nuzzled and licked the hollow area in her pelvic region, causing the Muggleborn to shiver.

Icy blue eyes looked into chocolate brown. "Hermione, I want to take care of you. Every day, for the rest of our lives. Will you let me?"

Hermione's eyes were locked onto Fleur's, unable to turn away. "Y…yes. Yes. I want you to…to take care of me…I want…I want so many things from you, Fleur."

Fleur smiled and gently pressed a finger to her lips. "Shhhhhhhh, sweetheart. Let me care for you, right now. Let me love you."

Hermione nodded and ran her fingers through the blond locks hovering over her pussy. Fleur smiled and gently dove in.

* * *

The next morning a sleepy but happy Hermione strolled down the steps. A part of her wanted to start whistling a merry tune, but she decided that would probably mess with the "Badass Hermione" image she seemed to be cultivating among the Order members. Still, the pain potions had definitely come in handy for the once-sore brunette, and now she was headed to the kitchen to make Fleur a nice breakfast of pain au chocolate and pain potion. She was well into the cooking process when the kitchen door opened and Ron came in.

"Hey, Hermione. What're you doing?" The redhead asked as he crossed the floor to her.

"Making some breakfast for Fleur and me." She replied calmly, never looking up from her task. "Want some? It's a popular French dish."

Ron winced at the thought of French cuisine. "Erm, no, I think I'll just stick to bacon and eggs." He walked to the fridge for some pumpkin juice as Hermione hid a grin behind her hand. She could always count on Ron to avoid anything foreign.

"Suit yourself." She replied. "Do you mind pouring me two glasses of orange juice?"

"Sure." Ron agreed, grabbing the extra glasses. "Um, Hermione, I…I wanted to say…I'm sorry."

It took everything in Hermione's power not to drop the pan from pure shock. "Wh-what?"

"I'm sorry." Ron repeated with red-tipped ears. "I shouldn't have called you out about your parents like that. I talked with Ginny about it, because I was so confused about why you didn't just tell us the truth. She and Luna said that you were likely still, you know, dealing with it, and it was really unfair of me to expect you to just tell us everything. And, looking back now, it really was. If I'd lost Mom and Dad, well, I would have a really hard time accepting it, too."

"I…thank you, Ron." Hermione replied, her voice thick with emotion. "I'm sorry I didn't tell you after…after I'd accepted that…that they weren't coming back." Hermione's hand slammed onto the counter as her shoulders shook with the effort of holding back her emotions. Ron quickly crossed to her and placed his hands on her shoulders, trying to give her comfort through his hands.

"I'm sorry that you felt like you couldn't." Ron admitted. "I know that a lot's been going on, with the war and all, but I really do care about your emotions, Hermione. I know that…what we had…I know it's gone forever and I've accepted that. But, I want you to know that I'm still here for you. I know I'm not very good at the emotional stuff, but I never wanted you to feel like you couldn't talk to me about your feelings. I know that I tend to jump to conclusions and fly off the handle, and I promise that I'm gonna work on that. I waited too long before I finally decided to try and be a better man for you. But, you know, maybe I can still be a better man for…for someone else."

Hermione turned and hugged him tightly. Screw her image, this was the first hug that they had shared since before Greyback's death. "Oh Ron, you'll be a wonderful man for that person when you find them. I don't doubt that for a second." She pulled away and laughed a bit. "Maybe that person can be better at pulling that good man out of you than I was."

Ron shrugged with a lame grin. "Well, you tried, right?"

"Yes, but I went about it all wrong." Hermione admitted with a more than a little shame. "I shouldn't have babied you and Harry so much. I'm sorry, I just couldn't accept that I needed to let you guys mess up a few times so that you could learn that I wasn't going to always be there. I'm starting to worry that me babying you both so much is why we're here, now. I should have prepared you both better than I did. I knew that this war was going to be far more serious that we ever imagined, but I didn't try to explain or prepare either of you for that. And now, here I am killing people." Her voice dropped to a whisper. "And here are you two, hating me for it."

Two fingers raised her chin, and her nervous eyes met a pair of certain ones. "I will never hate you, Hermione. Especially not for this. I admit it, I don't think I have it in me to do what you can do, but I know that without you, Harry and me would be dead a thousand times over, because all we'd be doing is stunning Death Eaters and letting them escape with new knowledge about our fighting styles. I'm worried about you killing, but not because I think you're going dark, but because I know that it's affecting you badly. I just wish that I could do something about…well, about the nightmares…"

Hermione nodded. In a small tent, it was really hard to keep violent night terrors a secret for long. "Harry's told you about me 'going dark', then? I knew he would." She muttered as she turned back to the pasties.

"Yeah," Ron admitted apologetically, "when I got back from talking to Luna and Ginny, he wouldn't shut up about it. Neville had to threaten him to get him to drop it."

Hermione glanced over her shoulder. "Neville? He defended me?"

"Of course he did, Hermione. Right scary he was, too. He looked at Harry and said in the most intimidating voice I've ever heard, 'Let me remind you, Potter, that the House of Longbottom owes a debt to Hermione Granger for the avenging of my parents. My family honor will not permit me to allow you to besmirch the name of such a great witch. I suggest you stop, before I decide to defend her honor.' I've grown up with Neville, so it's hard to forget the pudgy boy he used to be, but when he said that, I swear I could feel the magic rolling off of him! I was just glad he wasn't aiming that at me, or I'd have probably pissed myself!"

Hermione smiled as she set the pasties on the two plates, genuinely touched that the shy boy she had helped in school had stood up for her. Though, she imagined Harry wasn't too thrilled about being called out in such a manner. Oh well, she would just have to deal with it when the time came. "I'll have to be sure to thank Neville when I see him next."

She placed the plates on a tray and carried them over to the dining table to set the glasses of juice on it as well. Ron watched from his seat, absentmindedly sipping at his juice.

"Hermione?" Ron asked, stopping his bushy-haired friend. "Tell Fleur…well, tell her to do better with you than I did. You deserve it."

Hermione looked at her tall friend, amazed at how much he had grown physically and emotionally since they met on the Hogwarts Express so many years ago. She kissed his cheek and squeezed his hand resting on the table. "You're a good man, Ron. One day, you're going to meet someone who makes you see that as clearly as I do."

Ron watched her retreating back and sat sipping his juice, lost in his thoughts. Despite Hermione's insistence otherwise, Ron knew it would be a long time before he felt like a man, if he ever did. He preferred to consider himself a boy that had been forced to grow up far too early. He snorted a bit into his juice; at least he wasn't alone in that aspect.

* * *

Hermione slipped into the room, pleased to see that Fleur was still dozing in bed. She summoned another pain reliever potion from her bag and set the tray on the bedside table. Smiling, she gently shook the blonde's shoulder.

"Fleur? Honey, wake up. I have breakfast." She whispered, kissing the rousing face between sentences. Fleur's eyes finally fluttered open and warmed at the sight of her love. She wrapped her slender arms around the witch's neck and gently pulled her down into a gentle kiss. When they pulled away, Fleur winced at how sore she felt.

"Ow…I guess we did go pretty hard last night, didn't we?" Fleur muttered and Hermione helped her sit up, back resting against a pile of pillows.

"Well, I know you weren't complaining, and I certainly wasn't." Hermione quipped as she slipped onto the bed with her and handed her the potion. "Here, drink it up, then you get your breakfast."

Fleur wrinkled her nose at the thought of drinking a potion, but downed it without complaint. Her eyes widened. That wasn't as bad as she expected.

Hermione giggled, an odd sound coming from the studious witch. "I've been experimenting with adding some flavoring to the potions so they'll be easier to take." She explained. "I thought about marketing them towards children, so that it would be easier to get them to drink it all."

"Well, you still can when the war is over." Fleur suggested hopefully, taking Hermione's hand in her own and entwining their fingers.

"Yeah…maybe…" Hermione replied in a wistful voice, her eyes far away. She blinked and came back, reaching over to grab the tray. "Anyway, how about some breakfast? I've got something delicious!"

"Mmmmm, yes you do." Fleur agreed, looking over Hermione's body appreciatively and making the Muggleborn blush.

"I meant the pain au chocolate, silly." Hermione giggled, pushing Fleur's plate into her hands.

"Oh, well, I guess that will do for now." Fleur sighed dramatically, causing the younger witch to snort and gently slap the blonde's shoulder with the back of her hand.


	9. Chapter 9: Hermione's Worst Memory

_AN: So, I got an interesting review accusing me of stealing the idea for "flavored potions" from another author, tigertales. I'd never read tigertales before I got the review, because I've never really been a Hermione/Minerva fan, but I looked her up to see what the reviewer was talking about. Sure enough, flavored potions. Guys, I'm just writing this stuff for fun, and I'm genuinely not trying to rip anyone off or anything like that. Potions with flavoring in them just kind of seemed like something that Hermione would tinker around with. She's a curious chick; I could see her trying out some flavorings on potions mixtures to see if it affects the taste. On fanfiction . net alone, there are over 656,000 Harry Potter fanfics. I googled the phrase "Harry Potter fanfiction flavored potions", and got pages of results. All I'm saying is, you're likely to run into similar ideas eventually. Sorry if it upsets you so much, but as the old phrase goes: "There's nothing new under the sun"._

_AN(2): On that note, check out tigertales if you like Hermione/Minerva! There's some nice, light-hearted stuff there!_

_AN(3): Pretty serious stuff this chapter. Graphic descriptions of violence/death/crying kittens/etc. Don't worry, though, all the death stuff is happening to Death Eaters! Snape fans will not like this chapter. (Just kidding, there are no crying kittens! I would never be so cruel!)_

_DISCLAIMER: The House Cup thing seems like nothing more than a way to use peer pressure to make students kiss up to the professors. You pretty much just lose points when you annoy the professors or prefects. And, at the end of the year, what does the winning house really win, besides seeing their colors at the Leaving Feast and their Head getting to put a shiny trophy in their office? I think the House Cup is the greatest scam ever pulled, to be honest. And since I didn't think of it, I'm obviously not the owner of Harry Potter._

**Chapter 9: Hermione's Worst Memory**

Hermione sat at the kitchen table with Ron and the others. Fleur, Remus, Tonks and Bill also decided to join the group, both for Hermione's moral support and to sate their curiosity over what had happened to the dour potions master. Hermione looked around the table at mostly sympathetic and friendly faces, steeling her courage for what she was about to do. She hadn't thought too deeply about the day her parents died, and she wasn't particularly eager to delve into the memory of what was, without a doubt, the worst day of her short life.

Putting her wand to her temple, Hermione slowly drew out the memory of that day and placed it in the pensive. She swallowed hard as everyone dipped a finger into the bowl, herself included. The sensation of being pulled into the memory felt twice as jarring and nauseating this time, for some reason.

* * *

_Hermione walked slowly down the street, her hands deep in her pockets and her mind deep in thought. She had finalized the arrangements with the realtors, and there was a very good deal on the table. All she needed was to tell her parents everything and try to somehow convince them that they needed to leave Britain as soon as possible._

"I had been in touch with a wizarding real estate agency since the end of fifth year." Hermione explained. "Apparently it was common for Muggleborn children to want to move their families somewhere safe in the last war, since they couldn't ward their houses without breaking the Statute of Secrecy. I finally had a good offer on the table to take to my parents, and I was headed home to tell them about the war and beg them to leave Britain."

_The first sign that something was wrong was the sudden flash of green light that illuminated the window of her childhood home. With a growing lump in her throat, the witch pulled out her wand and ducked behind a bush on their lawn. She cast a few detection charms around the property, and found a charm that would sound if anyone came in the front door. She assumed that there would be one on the back door as well, so she carefully made her way to one of the side windows._

_Once she was safely crouched under an open window, she heard voices filtering in from the living room. Voices that were terrifyingly familiar._

"_Draco, you fool, I told you to leave them alive until we could find out where the Granger chit was." Severus Snape's hated voice filled her ears._

"_Wasn't my fault," Draco whined in response, "the bitch wouldn't stop screaming long enough for me and Goyle to have some fun. I had to shut her up, or the neighbors would have heard."_

_Hermione was going to be sick, she felt blackness creep along the edges of her vision, but she forced herself to focus instead on the anger she was feeling. If she could just focus long enough to kill them, then she would have time to mourn her parents._

"_You are filled with nothing but excuses, boy! You know that there is a silencing charm around the property, I put it up before we entered the house!" Snape spat at the pampered prince of Slytherin. "We are fortunate that the Ministry stopped watching this house, or we'd be up to our necks in Aurors."_

"_Let them come!" Hermione was surprised by the arrogant voice of Pansy Parkinson. "We're servants of the Dark Lord! None can stand against us!"_

"_We'll see about that…" Hermione whispered softly as she silently summoned a few rocks into her hand. Quickly, she used her wand to carve a few runes into the hard surfaces. She had been curious about using explosion runes to essentially create makeshift hand grenades for a while, now. It was an idea that had come to her while watching war movies with her father. She was finally going to test her theory, though she obviously wasn't too happy with the circumstances._

_She took a few deep breaths as she prepared herself. Killing Fenrir Greyback had been one thing, she had mostly just reacted when she saw the werewolf on top of Bill, but this would be a calculated attack on unsuspecting people. Her resolve became iron-like when she realized that that was exactly what her former schoolmates had done to her parents._

_Listening carefully, she waited until she knew how many were in the house. Finally, she counted six: Snape, Malfoy, Parkinson, Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini. She then waited until Snape moved away from the rest of them. She wanted to save him for last._

_She tossed three rocks into the group of students, and one she overshot in Snape's direction. She only wanted him badly wounded, not dead…yet. Four small explosions rocked the house, and Hermione followed them up with three "flash grenades" that she had also made with a combination of an explosion and over-charged lighting rune. Once they had exploded, Hermione carefully peeked over the windowsill._

_She cast a powerful shielding spell over herself before nonchalantly climbing into the window. The "fearless" Death Eaters were in complete disarray, cowering and trying to locate their assailant. They'd have a hard time finding her, as she'd made certain that the lighting spell was strong enough to completely burn their retinas. They would never be able to see again, even if Hermione had any intentions of letting them leave alive._

_Crabbe, Goyle, and Zabini had been torn apart by the explosions, but she was pleased to see that Malfoy and Parkinson were still alive, though barely. Snape was also simpering on the ground, bleeding from the two stumps that used to be his feet. He would last a while longer. Just long enough for her to deal with the "prince and princess" of Slytherin._

"_Who will stand against the Dark Lord?" Hermione said in a commanding voice that none could believe belonged to her. "I would stand against him. I would stand and fight against him and all who bear his mark. I know that little Draco bears his mark, therefore his life is forfeit, but do you, Parkinson, wear the mark of that monster?"_

"_I…I…Oh God, please don't kill me!" Pansy shrieked. "I renounce the Dark Lord! I won't kill anyone ever again, just please spare me!"_

_Hermione knelt and looked into Pansy's burnt eyeballs, charred and gooey from the blast. The Muggleborn reflected for a moment that they looked like burnt marshmallows. She shivered inside her soul, realizing that she would never be able to eat s'mores again after today. "Did my parents beg for you to spare them?" She asked in a cold voice._

"_I…they…PLEASE! PLEASE DON'T DO THIS!" Pansy begged, sobbing hysterically. Hermione slashed her throat with a silent and under-powered Diffindo. The kill may have been more out of pity, but she still wanted the bitch to bleed out._

"_Pansy?! PANSY?!" Draco screamed as he listened to her gurgling. He reached out for her, only to shriek as his hands became warm and wet with her blood. "No! No, it's not supposed to be like this! You're not supposed to kill, Granger! Dumbledore never-"_

"_Dumbledore is dead, Draco. Because of you and that bat over there." Hermione calmly replied. "You killed the one person that could restrain the Order, and now it's open season on you and your kind. Thank you, Draco. I'll be sure to let as many Death Eaters as possible know that you and Snape are the reason I'm no longer afraid to kill."_

_She fired a piercing hex through his forehead, exploding the back of his skill in the process. He fell over into Pansy's lap, whose last few gurgles were more frantic when she felt his brain matter slide into her hand. She then turned to the last and most detested person of the group: Severus Snape._

"_Granger. Help me." Snape begged, sounding completely unlike the man she knew for seven years. "I'm a double agent, working for Dumbledore. He wanted me to kill him, because he was dying already. I had to do it because he made me swear to. I want the Dark Lord dead just as badly as you do. Please, I need to be alive to help you and Potter. I just want that madman dead so I can live my life in peace."_

_Had he said those words to Hermione a year, even just a day ago, she would have healed him immediately and done everything in her power to help him. He may have been telling the truth, he may have been lying his ass off. This Hermione didn't give a shit._

"_And I want you dead, and it looks like only one of us is going to be getting our wish today." She growled, leveling her wand at the dark man._

"_You stupid bint! There's more at stake here than your petty revenge! Now listen-" Snape yelled, gearing up to rant._

"_It's a bad habit you've got, Snape," Hermione mused, fingering her wand thoughtfully, "killing other peoples' parents."_

"_GET OVER IT, GRANGER!" Snape roared, spittle flying through his crooked yellow teeth. "THE DARK LORD ORDERED IT, AND I HAD TO MAINTAIN MY COVER!"_

"_Then, I'd better help you with that." Hermione replied coldly. "You want Riddle to believe that you're a Death Eater? Then I'd better treat you like a Death Eater. _Reducto_."_

_She watched the top of Snape's head disappear dispassionately. Head hanging and wand dangling from her limp fingers, she walked over to the bodies of her parents. The Killing Curse. The Muggleborn hoped that one day she'd be able to take solace in the fact that they didn't suffer. She fell to her knees by their sides and gently closed their eyes._

"_I'm sorry." She whispered tearfully, emotion finally creeping back into her voice. "I'm sorry that you died for a war that you weren't even a part of. I'm sorry that I never told you everything. I'm sorry that you'll never know why you died."_

* * *

Hermione pulled everyone out of her memory before they could see the break down that took place after that. Luna looked at Hermione with that calm look that she always seemed to wear. Neville looked sick. Harry looked at her distrustfully. Ron and Ginny looked at her with pity. She hated Ron and Ginny's looks the most.

"I managed to clean the living room and the rest of the house, as if nothing ever happened. I took the deal on the house and used the money to give my parents a private funeral. I cast a Confundus charm on the door of the funeral home so that no one would ask how they died. I came to the Burrow right after the funeral. I just…wanted to be with friends." Hermione swallowed hard, squeezing Fleur's hand under the table like a lifeline.

"I don't care if you hate me for the things I've had to do." Hermione said, looking directly at Harry. "I'll continue to put Death Eaters down like the rabid animals they are. You don't have to join me or even agree with me. I just…I wanted you all to understand why."

Everyone sat, looking thoughtful. Harry stood, his eyes never leaving Hermione's.

"When we kill, we are no better than the Death Eaters. You enjoyed their pain. You lowered yourself to their level that day. What's worse is that you're better than that. You were always better than that. But now, you're not the Hermione that I knew. She died in the Department of Mysteries. Tell yourself whatever you have to so that you can sleep at night, but after the war is over, I want nothing to do with you." Harry's face looked pained, even as his eyes remained steely. Hermione nodded.

"That's your decision." Hermione stood from her chair, ready to go back upstairs and just curl into a ball. "After the war, I'm leaving Britain. There's nothing left for me, here. I wish you a long and happy life, Harry."

Hermione walked out of the kitchen quietly, leaving behind a deafening silence in her wake.

* * *

Hermione sat on her bed, staring at her hands. Was Harry right? She did enjoy watching the Death Eaters writhe in pain. Did that make her dark? Technically, they were people, but they were also evil people. They routinely maimed and tortured people, and never felt guilty over it. Worse, they saw it as their right to do these terrible things.

_But how am I any different?_ Hermione couldn't help but wonder. _I see it as my right to kill them. Should I be capturing them, instead? Would it be better for them to be tried and then executed? But they would never get a fair trial! If Malfoy was able to walk away while being Riddle's right-hand man, then how could anyone else be convicted, let alone put to death?_

Hermione lowered her head into her hands. This was giving her a headache.

The door clicked open and Fleur walked in. She looked at Hermione, who looked back with more than a little worry.

"Fleur, I...I'm sorry-"

"Shhhhhh." Fleur gently interrupted. She walked across the room and cast a Feather-light charm on the brunette, before picking her up. Propping herself up on the pillows, the blond sat Hermione in her lap and held her close, rocking her gently. The brunette buried her face in the blonde's shoulder, taking all of the comfort that her partner offered. After a while, Fleur held up a piece of parchment.

"I brought you some good news, sweetheart. Narcissa sent a message. She wants to meet us in the kitchen in a week. She says that she'll have the sixth Horcrux."

* * *

_AN: Since the "content police" are apparently studying my writing to ensure that I don't rip off authors I've never heard of, I'll go ahead and say that the idea of Muggleborns using a wizarding real estate agency to relocate their families comes from the story "Harry Potter and the Manipulator of Destiny" by Wheezy1. I like that story because it's a nice long tale with the pretty standard "manipulative Dumbledore" and "Super Harry and co." If that's your thing, then I recommend it. It's got good character and story development. I really liked the idea of a wizarding real estate agency, because it kinda made sense to me. Muggleborns would possibly face fines for breaking the Statute of Secrecy if they tried warding their own homes, and they wouldn't really know a lot about doing it unless they studied warding pretty extensively. So the next best solution: relocate the family._

_AN(2): Sorry guys, I realize that I'm coming off as really snarky. I was just kinda annoyed to come home to find someone getting on my case as if I'm Snidely Whiplash, running around stealing stories and laughing maniacally. Anyway, hope you guys still enjoyed!_


	10. Chapter 10: Unconventional Methods

_AN: So, I'm going to try and make the other characters a bit more three-dimensional, because I've had some complaints that certain characters are not really developing. Just be warned, there are a TON of characters in the Harry Potter series, and I just don't have the time nor the inclination to develop each and every one of them. Remember, this story is still about Hermione and Fleur. And yeah, I guess Hermione kinda is the "chick in charge" of the Order. It's funny because you can look up any Super!Harry fic and see the same thing. I'm actually happy to see that Hermione fans have a more discerning palate when it comes to their fanfiction!_

_AN(2): Also, the whole 'war' plot is going to be taking the front seat for the next few chapters, because I really want to finish the war so that I can focus solely on Hermione and Fleur. Seriously, I had no intention of this dragging out for as long as it has!_

_AN(3): Finally, sorry about how long this chapter took. I was doing a bit of moving, and I wanted to get a bit of research done because I thought of a more, shall we say, unconventional way of dealing with a Horcrux. I wanted to research the theory a bit before I committed myself to it, so…yeah!_

_DISCLAIMER: The entire world is at stake. Voldemort is growing stronger every day and has support everywhere. Literally, the only hope for Britain is the destruction of the Horcruxes, and Dumbledore not only forces Harry to promise that he won't tell anyone but TWO OTHER STUDENTS, but he also leaves them a few trinkets and expects them to trapeze all over Britain to find those goddamn things?! I think Dumbledore just wanted them to fail, to be honest…_

**Chapter 10: Unconventional Methods**

The next two days at Grimmauld were some of the longest of Hermione's life. It wasn't the awkward looks being passed among the Order, nor was it the piercing silences at every meal.

No, Hermione and company were just bored out of their skulls.

Riddle seemed to be rationing out his forces, with the recent spree of Death Eater killings in battle. As a result, there wasn't much for the Order to do. They couldn't go after the Ministry, as it was still too fortified and there was too great a risk of Riddle making an appearance. They didn't need to do any research at the time, since Narcissa was bringing them the last two Horcruxes. Finally, they didn't want to try finalizing any battle plans against Riddle until they had all of the Horcruxes in hand. Right now, the plan was to hold off on destroying the last one until they had a plan to draw Riddle into a battleground of their own choosing.

Until then, Remus had at least found a way to spend his and Harry's time wisely. The werewolf had reasonably pointed out that if Harry was the one prophesied to defeat Riddle, then it would be wise to start training him to use his strengths to fight the Dark Lord. Every member of the Order contributed every memory they had of watching Riddle in battle, allowing Remus, Harry, and any member of the Order who was skilled in dueling to analyze his fighting style for weaknesses. It was slow-going, but at least it kept Harry busy and renewed the faith of the more skeptical members of the resistance that the boy-who-lived could defeat the Dark Lord. According to Remus, the young man was progressing well.

Hermione had been stalking around the old house like a big cat in a cage. Fleur had had a lot of fun re-directing that agitation, but there was only so many times they could "play" before they both got too tired. Fleur had opted to put the development of Hermione's kitten side on hold for now, until they had a definite plan to take out Riddle and his followers. If Hermione wanted to push things farther, then the blond would happily oblige, but until then, she was willing to give the Muggleborn something stable to anchor herself to every night. Still, Hermione desperately needed something to do. The solution came in a most unlikely form: Luna Lovegood.

"Hermione," Luna said, sitting at the kitchen table watching the brunette fidget madly, "those rocks you carved those runes into…could you make more of them?"

"Yeah, I suppose so." Hermione shrugged, polishing silverware like a woman possessed. "I could make a bunch and…" she dropped the knife in her hand as she was hit by inspiration, "…and I could teach the Order members who are out fighting how to charge them! They could be walking around with dozens of bombs in their pockets, ready to be charged and used! Luna, you're brilliant!"

The brunette hugged the giggling Ravenclaw before rushing out the door, muttering about researching more runes to put on the makeshift bombs. "I could put a barrier rune on one with an expansion charm to hold Death Eaters captive with…"

Fleur smiled as she watched Hermione hurry to the library. She reached over and gently squeezed Luna's hand. "Thank you, Luna. She would have gone crazy before the week was over."

"Oh, I'm always happy to help." Luna replied with a smile. "Hermione can be rather…unpredictable when she's bored."

"Got that right." Neville muttered as he and Ron entered the back door from the garden, both carrying baskets of herbs and plants. "Fleur, we got you some more plants from the garden to work with. I think you'll be able to completely restock our stores, once Jones comes back from the apothecary."

"Perfect! Thank you, both!" Fleur praised as she took the baskets and gave one to Ginny. "Ginny, would you like to come and help me prepare the plants? Jones should be back today."

Ginny took the basket and nodded with a grateful look. It had been difficult to convince the older members that the students could be useful for more than just cleaning up, but the Order had finally accepted that a group of teenagers would be more manageable if they had tasks to occupy themselves with. Neville quickly offered to grow useful plants and herbs in the backyard, and when the trio arrived, Ron had happily discovered that he didn't mind helping his fellow Gryffindor work outside. Pruning and growing important crops was much more fun than de-gnoming the yard for hours on end.

Ginny, meanwhile, had flourished in her potions abilities under Fleur's patient tutorage. The Beauxbaton's student had been gifted in potions at an early age, and enjoyed nothing more than spending hours brewing and preparing potions. She never understood how Snape could take a subject that had always brought her such peace and turn it into such a miserable experience for his students. Because of the high-pressure environment and the constant threat of the more cruel Slytherins attempting to sabotage the Gryffindors' potions, Ginny had never received very high marks in her potions classes. With a more relaxed environment and a teacher that actually instructed, she found that she actually really enjoyed brewing.

Finally, Luna had been happily using her research experience to sort out the books in the Black library to make things easier for anyone looking for a specific subject to research. She was also devoting a lot of time to helping various Order members with whatever projects they were researching at any given time. Under her watchful eye, the Black library was now sorted into subjects instead of titles, and all books by the same author were placed together under each subject. Luna was hoping to create a full catalogue of the books in the library before Christmas. Until then, she finished up her pudding and walked up to the library, ready to help Hermione research her runes.

The high tension in the house was still causing the days to pass slowly, but at least everyone was finding something to hide in while they waited for the war to continue.

* * *

Finally, the day came for Narcissa to bring the final Horcruxes to the Order.

In the past week, Hermione and Luna had made over two-hundred Runestones (as Luna had dubbed them) for the Order, and had taught a few members who were proficient in Runes how to make them so that they could produce more. Neville and Ron had planted any useful thing that they could get their hands on, which served to keep Fleur and Ginny stocked with potions ingredients. Meanwhile, Fleur and Ginny had made so many essential healing potions, that Madame Pomphrey had started asking for more specialized potions for healing. Ginny was having the time of her life learning so many new potions recipes, especially when Fleur had commented that she was just about ready to learn how to make a Draught of Living Death.

Finally, Harry had grown in his dueling skills in leaps and bounds. The occasional mental attack from Riddle was distracting, but the young man had always learned more from Remus than from any other professor who had attempted to teach him. All of the tasks had served to burn off some excess energy for the teens, and they were far more amenable to each other in the past week. Harry and Hermione had even managed to have a nearly day-long conversation about Death Eater tactics that didn't devolve into an argument.

All in all, things seemed more hopeful around the house. At least, until Narcissa brought terrible news to the Order.

The blond entered gracefully through the Floo, a large brown sack slung over her shoulder. Hermione had to fight the urge to snicker at the thought of Narcissa as Santa Clause. She was met with the same entourage as her last visit, though she was pleased to see that Ron and Harry looked calmer and more prepared for the meeting. She deposited the sack with little ceremony on the kitchen table.

"Be careful opening that. I hit it with at least five stunning charms and a stasis charm, but it would be better to take no chances." She warned the group.

Everyone trained their wands on the sack as Remus carefully opened the mouth. He jerked back a bit in surprise as he saw the biggest bloody snake he'd ever laid eyes on.

"Merlin, what the hell is that?!" Remus asked, the shock clear in his voice. Only a lifetime of pulling pranks and keeping secrets kept his voice low so as not to alert anyone else in the house.

"The Dark Lord's familiar. Snape told me that he suspected it was a Horcrux." Narcissa explained.

"Why would he do that?" Harry asked, his curiosity overriding his hatred of the dead man.

"Because he wanted you to have a bargaining chip, didn't he?" Hermione theorized. "Snape did an awful lot for you, Mrs. Mal…Ms. Black."

"Severus and I…had an understanding with each other. I enjoyed his company, and he did mine. We did not love or ever truly care for one another as people, but we were close enough that he understood my…weariness with this war. I believe that he would have considered it a waste of good blood for me to die." Narcissa explained, an unreadable expression on her face. Hermione recalled a theory she had once heard about parallel universes. She wondered if in this moment, she was catching a glimpse of something that could have been, in another time.

She shook off the thought, shivering a bit at the thought of the dire potions master and the haughty aristocrat together. Speculation later, work now.

"We greatly appreciate this, Narcissa. Our contacts high in the Ministry have agreed to grant you a pardon after the war for your help. You said that you knew what the last Horcrux was, I assume that you meant to say that you didn't have access to it?" Hermione inferred, to the blonde's nod of confirmation.

"Yes, I don't have access to the Horcrux, but you do." Everyone perked up at this statement; finally, they were seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.

"Perfect!" Harry said excitedly. "What's the last Horcrux?"

Narcissa gave him a piercing look. "You, Mr. Potter. You are Riddle's final Horcrux."

* * *

_AN: BAM! Yep, Harry's still a Horcrux! Now, how about those reviews? They feed your local plot bunny and…nah, I'm just kidding, guys! I ain't gonna leave you all hanging like that!_

* * *

Harry sat, staring numbly into a glass of Firewhiskey. Molly would not have approved, but everyone agreed that the man really needed one right about now. Everyone else was seated around the table, the sack holding Nagini encased in one of Hermione's new "cage" Runestones. They had still hit the snake with a few different stasis charms, just in case it tried to establish a connection with its master. They would take care of Nagini later, Harry was more important right now. After the initial shock wore off, Neville and the two young women managed to force their way into the kitchen. The adults had allowed it because Harry seemed to need his friends right now. As the conversation continued, Ginny and Luna each sat on one side of the boy-who-lived, offering him what comfort they could.

"So, let me see if I've got this straight." Hermione said, rubbing her aching head after about an hour of conversation. "Dumbledore knew about Harry's scar being a Horcrux since his fifth year. Dumbledore told Snape because he knew that he was dying soon, and he wanted Snape to make sure that Harry would be willing to 'sacrifice' himself at the right time to bring down Riddle. Snape, however, knew that his life was in danger because he'd 'killed' Dumbledore, so he told you because he knew you wanted out and would likely eventually run across Harry. That way, if Snape was killed before he could talk to Harry, he had someone else who knew the secret. Dumbledore believed that the only way to get rid of the Horcrux was for Harry to be hit by the killing curse, and he was hoping that it would essentially work as a 'free pass' for one killing curse. And once Nagini is killed and the Horcrux is removed from Harry's scar, Riddle will be mortal and therefore susceptible to anyone who tries to kill him? Is that about the gist of it?"

Narcissa thought for a minute, before nodding slowly. "I believe so. When Snape told me about the Horcrux, he started going on about 'the right time', and 'keeping certain truths from Potter', but I stopped listening at that point. Chess master manipulations like that are the main reason I want to get out of Britain. I never did have any patience for chess."

Ron growled low in his throat. "Well, I'm sure Dumbledore didn't plan for this conversation. I say screw the 'killing curse' theory, I'm not letting Harry walk up to Riddle and just hope for the best."

"Trust me Ron, none of us have any intention of letting Harry take a killing curse to the head." Remus assured the redhead, making everyone else nod emphatically.

"How else are we going to get rid of it?" Harry asked, sounding more terrified than anyone had ever heard from him before. Hermione grabbed his hand, a fiery look in her eyes. Whatever their differences in opinion, Harry was still Hermione's first real friend and she had no intention of losing him to the manipulations of an ancient relic.

"We'll find a way, Harry. I admit, I'm not sure what we'll do just yet, but we'll figure something out. In the meantime, we should go ahead and take care of Nagini, we don't need to risk her connecting with Riddle and giving him our location." Remus nodded and he and Tonks picked up the large sack and headed toward the cellar.

"WAIT!" Ginny jumped up, her eyes wide with excitement. "What if we exorcised the Horcrux out of Harry?!"

Everyone looked at the little redhead curiously, waiting for her to elaborate.

"When I took Muggle Studies, I had to do a project where I looked at problems that both the Muggle and Wizarding world deal with in different ways. I decided to look at ghosts and poltergeists since Hermione had given me that book of London hauntings for Christmas, and I found a lot of information about Muggles exorcising demons and spirits out of people. If the Horcrux is basically a piece of Riddle's soul, then wouldn't that make it a malevolent spirit? I bet there's a book somewhere in the Black library about getting rid of spirits!" Ginny looked at Luna for confirmation.

"I think that there are a few books about it…" Luna said, racking her brain. "If there are, it shouldn't be too hard to find them."

"Perfect!" Hermione said, standing as the excitement took hold of her as well. "We'll start researching for some ways to get spirits out of living beings, and we can use Nagini as a test subject to make sure that it works! That way, we won't be needlessly risking Harry's life or soul!"

Tonks, with her hair returning to its usual bubblegum pink at the upward shift in tone, quickly began making plans with Hermione to draw out a "stasis cage" in the cellar to keep Nagini in so that the stasis charms would not have to be constantly re-applied. Neville and Ron began to brainstorm ways that they could contribute, and Luna ran upstairs to start looking for books. Ginny gave Harry a warm hug.

"Don't worry Harry," the redhead assured him, "we'll get that spirit out of you, and then we'll take out Riddle!"

For the first time since his sixth year, surrounded by people who cared about him and were working to help him, Harry allowed himself to feel hope.


	11. Chapter 11: Cry Havoc

_DISCLAIMER: Hey, great job there, Wizarding World! Y'all are some really upstanding guys! I mean, Voldemort returns, he starts indiscriminately attacking muggles, and you guys realized what a bad reaction that could cause for you all! You stepped right up and made the muggle leaders aware of the growing danger, and you worked hard to coordinate your efforts so that the muggles could be protected as well as the wizards! That was a real class act! Oh, wait, you guys didn't think to do that? Even though you're terribly outnumbered and those attacks could have revealed the existence of magic, and the muggles could have decided to just nuke the shit out of all of you? You still never really bothered to fill the Prime Minister in on every detail? Well, fuck you, Wizarding World! If I'd written those books, you assholes would have taken some damn responsibility for the mess you helped create! But, I didn't. And therefore, you didn't._

**Chapter 11: Cry Havoc**

The ticking of the grandfather clock in the hallway was the only noise in the silent home.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

Hermione sat at the kitchen table with Fleur by her side, one hand holding the blonde's and the other compulsively circling the mouth of her tea cup with her finger.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

Ron, Neville, Luna and Ginny sat with them, each lost in their own worries. Each trying to think of something…anything else. Each trying not to worry about what was happening down in the cellar.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

"It's been three hours. I'm going down there." Hermione stood, drawing her wand.

"SIT." Fleur commanded in a voice that brooked no argument. Hermione obeyed, looking embarrassed at her outburst. No one begrudged her for her behavior. They had all had a similar moment at some point in the past few hours.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

* * *

"I'll need a week to prepare for the exorcism." Father Dunbar told the group, which now included the Lupins and a pale and tired-looking Harry, an hour later. "In the meantime, please prepare a room with restraints strong enough to hold Mr. Potter still while I perform the ritual. Harry, you will also need to think very carefully about who you wish to have in the room with you. It will need to be people that you trust and who you know care for you. You may have as many people with you as you want, but they need to understand that they are not to interfere with the ritual."

Harry nodded dumbly, slowly regaining the color in his face.

"Do you think the ritual will work?" Hermione asked, her brow furrowed in worry.

"It's difficult to tell." The middle-aged man admitted, looking down at his weather-beaten hands as he spoke. "I've done many magical and muggle exorcisms, but I've never seen anything like what Riddle's done to Mr. Potter. I believe the trick will be to concentrate the spells on his scar, rather than the whole body. I'm also unsure about how the exorcism will affect the spirit. If it doesn't destroy it instantly, we will need to have a living being nearby to re-anchor it to."

"Could we use the snake?" Neville asked.

"I would rather not risk what could happen if we put two soul pieces into one container. Better to just get something else to use." The priest advised.

"I vote for a spider." Ron muttered.

"We can do that." Father Dunbar responded, making the redhead smirk with glee.

"I'll get a hold of an animal to use." Remus offered, to which everyone agreed. "In the meantime, I suggest that we use the time between now and the exorcism to make plans on how we will handle Riddle. We have weakened his more skilled forces, but he always has untrained bigots and cowards willing to flock to his cause."

"Useless in a fight, but great for cannon fodder." Hermione agreed. "Thank you, Father Dunbar. We have a portkey for you to use to get back to Italy. If you need anything, or if you're attacked for whatever reason, please just squeeze this coin and think of your location." She handed him an old D.A. coin. "I promise you, we will come running."

"I don't doubt that for a second." The older man commented with a wry smile. "I hope this works out for you all. Please know that Magical Europe is supporting you."

"Fat lot of good their support is doing." Ron grumbled angrily.

"RON!"

"No, he is right." Father Dunbar cut Hermione off. "Believe me, there are many wizards and witches in Italy, Ireland and France who are very unhappy about the International Confederation's embargo on England. There are many political leaders who are working around the clock to try and change their minds."

"Well, hopefully they won't have to." Harry stated, joining the conversation for the first time. "Hopefully we'll be able to deal with it on our own. Besides, the last thing that we want is Riddle gaining access to all of Magical Europe." Several heads nodded in agreement with that surprisingly insightful comment.

"Well, I'd best be off, my friends. God be with you all, and I will see you in a week…hopefully." Father Dunbar took the portkey from Tonks's outstretched hand, and with a small flash was gone, leaving behind a mostly silent house.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

* * *

The week flew by in a surprising contrast to the previous one, as everyone worked hard to prepare. Harry and Remus continued to train hard, with the occasional break to consult with Hermione and a few select Order members about battle plans. Ginny and Fleur decided to help out with Hermione's Runestone project, their potions stock filled and overflowing. Luna, meanwhile, continued to fly through her reading material like a woman possessed, while Neville and Ron had been relegated to sorting the books and keeping an eye on the coin connected to Father Dunbar. The group had been a bit hesitant to attempt to break the international embargo by contacting the priest, but it was a risk that was already paying off.

The middle-aged priest was eager to help the Order find a way to get rid of Riddle once and for all, even if international laws forbade him from interfering. When the Order had explained to him what exactly they wanted to do, his curiosity was piqued to new levels. He'd successfully performed over a hundred muggle and magical exorcisms in his years in the priesthood, but never had he attempted the exorcism of a Horcrux. He was grateful that the Order had managed to procure another live soul container, though he was a bit afraid to ask how they'd managed it. He could be arrested by the International Confederation for his actions, and he could be removed from the priesthood for performing an unsanctioned exorcism, but it would be worth it to be able to help defeat Riddle before his power base could spread.

Finally, the night came for Father Dunbar to perform the exorcism. The group waited in the kitchen for the man to come through the floo, the ever-present silence permeating the room.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

Occasionally, someone tried to make small talk, but any conversation quickly floundered and died. Hermione checked her watch every five seconds, waiting for 7:00PM to finally arrive. Fleur held her other hand, trying to keep her calm and grounded.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

Finally, 7:00 rolled around.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

Then came 7:05PM.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

7:10PM.

TICK…TICK…TICK…TICK

7:15PM.

"Something's wrong." Hermione said worriedly, looking back at nervous faces. "He should have been here by now. We need to contact him."

"He's still got the coin, right? He'd tell us if something was wrong, wouldn't he?" Neville reasoned, doing nothing to ease any fears.

"He could just be running late." Ginny suggested. "I mean, he is doing this without telling anyone. Maybe he's just trying to find an empty area to-"

Bzzzt…Bzzzt…Bzzzt

All eyes turned to the coin on the table as it vibrated and heated up. Father Dunbar was under attack.

* * *

"Shields on, everyone." Hermione ordered as they prepared to enter the battle. "Scatter as soon as we land. Remember, one person is a waste of magic, a cluster is a juicy opportunity. Harry, be careful. We need you to stay alive. Game faces on, people! This is the real thing, and we don't know what we'll be facing!"

The original group (minus a pregnant Tonks), plus a few of the Weasleys and other Order members cast their strongest shielding charms on each other. With a deep breath, they all formed a web centering on Hermione, who grabbed the coin…

…And portkeyed the group into the sight of a destroyed house and the smell of burning flesh. As soon as they landed, they were attacked on all sides by Death Eaters. Harry, Hermione, Bill and Remus quickly summoned any debris they could find into the paths of the flying curses. The group scattered, a few getting grazed by the shattered rocks. Ducking behind whatever cover they could, they shot whatever spells they could think of at the attackers.

"COVER YOUR EARS!" Hermione yelled, tossing a few sonic Runestones into the group of Death Eaters, causing them to explode with an ear-bursting BOOM. The few who didn't react quickly enough were tossed off their feet, ears bleeding, and found themselves unable to get back up due to the sudden change in equilibrium.

"Dumbasses still haven't learned how to spread out…" Hermione muttered to Remus as they sent cutting and piercing hexes into the crowd, severing limbs and creating holes in places holes should never be. The other teens focused on casting "distraction" hexes that would inconvenience the Death Eaters long enough for one of the others to take him out permanently.

"GRANGER!" A hated voice screamed insanely. "I KNOW IT WAS YOU! I KNOW YOU KILLED MY SON! I SWEAR I'LL KILL YOU!"

"A fine day to you, too, Mr. Malfoy! Shall I regale you with tales of how your son died crying like a baby?" She called back, trying to goad him into a fit of rage. One thing she had learned long ago was that uncontrolled rage made for sloppy dueling.

"DAMN YOU TO HELL, YOU MUDBLOOD BITCH!" Spittle flew from the senior Malfoy's mouth as he fired curses randomly at Hermione's direction. She moved faster than she'd ever moved before to dodge them, but she knew it was the best way to wear the man down. The rest of the Order could handle the other Death Eaters. Malfoy seemed pretty focused on her, and she was willing to accommodate the man.

"STAND STILL, DAMN YOU!" Malfoy's red face clashed horribly with his platinum locks, but Hermione still couldn't help but feel that it was a look she'd prefer to see more often on the man. She fired a cutting curse that just nicked his hand, and growled in frustration as she dodged while trying to line up a better shot.

Then Malfoy did something that any Auror would never do, even in the most dire of situations: he apparated. He was off his mark by a few feet, but somehow managed to complete the apparition without splinching or being hit by spellfire. He'd become the worst kind of enemy: the kind that no longer cared whether he lived or died. With an evil, twisted grin that looked so out of place on his face, Malfoy aimed his wand at Luna, who he was now standing over.

"I'll kill you all!" He snarled with a ferocious glee.

"LUNA, NO!" Hermione screamed, running as fast as her legs could carry her, wand raised.

"_REDUCTO_!"


	12. Chapter 12: I Am Become Death

_AN: Okay, so something's going to happen in this chapter, and it's very likely that your first reaction is going to be "Wait! In cannon…" All I ask is that you just wait until the next chapter before bringing it up, because I give you all my word that I will address it. So, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE, don't spoil it in the reviews. If you do want to ask me about it, please send me a PM instead._

_DISCLAIMER: Why is the only real show of power that we get from Harry that moment in third year? Other than that moment, he's pretty much just a quick dude who gets really lucky. After the Patronus thing, we don't see him perform any other really powerful feats of magic, aside from the "brother wand" thing in GOF. I can't answer that question. Do you know why? Because I don't own Harry Potter, that's why!_

**Previously:**

…_With an evil, twisted grin that looked so out of place on his face, Malfoy aimed his wand at Luna, who he was now standing over._

"_I'll kill you all!" He snarled with a ferocious glee._

"_LUNA, NO!" Hermione screamed, running as fast as her legs could carry her, wand raised._

"_REDUCTO!"_

**Chapter 12: I Am Become Death**

Malfoy's look of shock burned itself into Hermione's brain as she watched his torso explode into bloody chunks. His lower half fell backwards onto the ground, revealing a shaking Ginny, her wand still raised for battle. The redhead's eyes reflected her growing horror as she slowly began to realize what she had done. Hermione moved forward to reassure her, but Luna got there first.

"Ginny…you saved me." The blonde gently took Ginny's hands into her own and planted a sweet kiss on her trembling lips. "Thank you."

The light returned to Ginny's eyes, and she simply nodded. After the battle, the implications of what she had done were going to hit her hard. But for now, she could still fight. Fleur gently but firmly guided the two behind some debris, where they could stay protected while continuing to fire hexes. Hermione returned her attention to the battle at hand.

The Order was definitely outnumbered, but what the Death Eaters had in numbers, they lacked in skill. Remus had been right in his earlier assumption; these recruits were nothing but cannon fodder. Fred and George had cleverly begun to charm anything they thought would be useful with the _Piertotum Locomotor_ charm, causing them to become animated and fight the Death Eaters. After quickly teaching the incantation to Ron and Neville, the two joined in, and soon the less experienced Death Eaters were being overrun by little boulders, sticks, and the occasional statue.

Remus, Bill, and the Order members, meanwhile, were concentrating their efforts on the more experienced and dangerous Death Eaters. Hermione was touched that they had complete faith in the teens' ability to handle the younger Death Eater recruits. Fleur darted around the battlefield with astonishing speed and grace, dodging curses and batting away smaller hexes as if they were flies, and healing or otherwise moving the wounded to a safe place. The Veela was certainly efficient; when Fred was smashed in the arm by a large piece of stone, Fleur was by his side in an instant. She'd cast a numbing charm and had the arm splinted before Fred could even yelp in pain.

Hermione continued to dodge and cast as she kept roaming one eye over the battlefield, looking for Father Dunbar. She sincerely hoped that he wasn't inside of his now-burning little house. As her eyes roamed the small field that served as the priest's front lawn and his garden, she finally spotted a mass of black robes. Harry had just reached them and was checking the body as Ron and Neville stood over him, casting shields and hexes. Harry looked at Hermione with a pained expression.

"Well…shit." Hermione muttered angrily, nodding before turning back to the Death Eaters.

Suddenly, all the fighting stopped abruptly. The Order wasn't sure what to make of the sudden ceasefire, until they got their answer. It was the very one they had hoped not to get.

"Harry Potter." The monster that called himself Lord Voldemort casually strolled forward, seemingly appearing out of nowhere. "The boy-who-lived…come to die."

"Not this time, Riddle." Harry growled, his wand at the ready.

"DO NOT CALL ME BY THAT WRETCHED NAME!" The creature hissed angrily. "I AM LORD VOLDEMORT! MASTER OF THE ELDER WAND! I AM DEATH! BOW TO ME!"

"Never gonna happen, Riddle!" Hermione yelled, clenching her wand in a vice-like grip. "The Order bows to no-one! Least of all a pathetic half-blood pretender like yourself!"

"SILENCE, MUDBLOOD!" Voldemort raged, throwing Hermione backwards with a burst of magic. She slammed hard into a nearby stone wall, feeling at least two ribs break upon impact.

"HERMIONE!" Fleur cried, watching her love fall roughly to her hands and knees. She ran to the brunette as she shakily rose to one knee, her wand never leaving her hand.

"I'm okay, honey." The younger woman reassured her lover as she kept her focus on the disgusting creature. Voldemort threw his head back and laughed.

"That was but a taste of the agony you will feel when I destroy you! But first, come Potter! Let us see how well you fight when you don't have the skirts of greater witches and wizards to hide behind." He hissed, fixing his red eyes on Harry's emerald ones.

"No more hiding, Riddle. We'll end this today." Harry rumbled deep in his throat, stepping forward to fight.

"Wait, Harry, you don't have to do this alone!" Ron pleaded with his best friend. "Please, let us help!"

"ENOUGH!" Voldemort roared, blowing everyone but himself and Harry backwards and erecting a dome over the two with a flick of his wand. "The challenge has been set forth and the conditions accepted! We will fight now, just the two of us!"

Hermione groaned in pain as she slowly stood, leaning heavily on Fleur for support. Riddle was right, much as she hated to admit it. They couldn't fight this fight. It would have to be Harry. It was always meant to be Harry. She would have to hope that her friend's training would be enough. Still, something niggled at the back of her mind. A thought just at the edge of her conscious…

"_Reducto_!"

"_Crucio_!"

The fight began with a bang. Literally.

Both the Order and the Death Eaters stood still as they watched the duel, knowing that the outcome would decide this battle more than anything that either party did in the meantime.

Harry's speed and agility usually gave him a deciding edge in duels against lazy pure-bloods, but in this case, Voldemort had clearly also realized the advantages of being quick on one's feet. The battle played out like a strange dance as the two ducked and dodged circles around one another, barely pausing to cast a hex. All the while, Riddle taunted Harry mercilessly, hoping to throw him off.

"Do you want to know how I knew about your little pet priest, Harry?" He gloated. "I plucked it right out of your stupid little mind, just like I figured out that you have my familiar, Nagini. Once I've finished you, I think I'll torture the address of your precious headquarters out of one of your pitiful friends."

Harry didn't answer. Remus had trained him well when it came to Riddle. Rule number one: never let the sadistic fuck get into your head. Rule number two: don't stop moving, or he'll get you. Rule number three: get creative, because it's the only way to beat him.

Harry feigned to the right before rolling to the left instead, giving him a shot at Riddle's back. To everyone's surprise, he cast a strong cheering charm that connected with Riddle, causing him to break out in a full-blown grin. The only word to describe the sight of a happy grin on the face of Lord Voldemort was…creepy.

"…Oh!" Hermione gave a start, realizing why Harry had chosen that spell. "If he's happy, he can't cast the killing or torture curses! You have to have hatred in your heart to perform those spells. Well done, Harry."

Indeed, Riddle found himself unable to cast his two favorite curses at the smaller man. Unfortunately, he hadn't become the "feared Dark Lord" by simply casting killing curses everywhere he went. Despite the handicap, he still sent many nasty hexes and curses at Harry, which thankfully didn't connect with the agile Seeker.

Suddenly, Voldemort seemed to lift off of the ground in a move that reminded everyone of the frantic escape from Private Drive. He charged for Harry with such speed, Hermione was barely able to follow his path.

Harry, however, was able to see him coming, and responded by casting a powerful shield over himself and then pointing his wand to his right.

"_Confringo_!" He yelled, casting the blasting curse at the ground beside of him. The impact of the blast caused him to be thrown across the dome to his left, getting him out of the way of Voldemort's path. But the split-second decision came at a price, and he found himself struggling to stand and he tried to shake the stunning effects of the blast off.

Voldemort took that time to cast a powerful _Finite_ at himself, ending the cheering charm. He pointed his gnarled, black wand at Harry.

'_Wait, that wand doesn't look right…_' Again, something tugged at the back of Hermione's mind…

"_Avada Kedavra_!"

"_Expelliarmus_!"

The two beams shot towards each other. Harry would win this war for dominance. He'd done it before, and he could do it now. The beams met in the middle of the dome.

And Riddle's ripped right through Harry's and connected with his chest, sending the boy-who-once-lived flying backwards until he came to a stop in front of Hermione and Fleur, his emerald orbs wide open, staring at everything and seeing nothing. The screams of the Order drowned out the screams of the Horcrux as it died.

Time stopped for the Order. What had just happened? What about the prophecy? What about the "brother wand" effect? What now?

"Behold! Your savior! Dead at my hands!" Voldemort laughed evilly as he dropped the dome, strolling across the field like a man out for a leisurely walk around the golf course. The Death Eaters cheered, paying no heed to the shocked and dismayed Order of the Phoenix. They had won! Harry Potter was dead! None could oppose them, now!

"RIDDLE, YOU COCKSUCKING SON OF A FUCKING WHORE! _DIFFINDO_!" Hermione put every ounce of her magic into the cutting curse, not caring that it would have no effect. Riddle laughed as it flew towards him and raised his wand, lazily casting a shield.

Only to feel the curse smash his shield and slice completely through his torso, cutting the hated monster cleanly in two.

Riddle's eyes widened as the blood seeped through the cut, flowing at a faster and faster rate until it seemed as though a red waterfall was spilling from his beltline. He fell forward, the two halves separating, causing the torso to amazingly fall upright. Riddle stared at his wand, as if to ask it what had just happened, before he gave one last shuddering breath and died, his torso slumping forward the best that it could.

The screams of Voldemort's soul as it was once again forced from his body were joined by the screams of his "loyal" Death Eaters. The Order had just woken up, and even the teens were hungry for blood. No one was casting joke hexes this time. Blasting curses, cutting curses, entrail-expelling curses, and piercing hexes were the order of the day. Many of them begged for mercy. There was none to be had. One by one, the Death Eaters fell, until there were none left.

Hermione limped over to Harry and Riddle's bodies, stepping carefully to avoid jostling her injuries. She looked at the wand in Riddle's still-clenched fist, feeling it calling to her. She carefully bent down and picked it up. Electricity seemed to shoot through her, and she felt more powerful than ever before. She looked around to see that the rest of the Order had gathered with her around Harry's body. Almost all of the Order members and teens were wounded in some way from the battle, but Harry's was the only death. It was still too high a price.

With silent tears flowing freely, Hermione raised her lit wand. The others followed suit.

* * *

_AN: Sooooooo...yesterday was my birthday! You know what makes a writer so happy on her birthday? Reviews! And favorites! They keep me warm and fed! So, please let me know if you like the story. And if you don't, favorite me so that you can leave mean comments every chapter. See if you can make me cry, haha! :) Just kidding, please don't do that. I'm very sensitive!_


	13. Chapter 13: Crash

_DISCLAIMER: How does a second year figure out not only what the monster in the Chamber of Secrets was, but also how it's getting around a castle full of people, AND why it's petrifying instead of killing people? The greatest fucking wizard of all time seriously doesn't have a clue about what it could possibly be? Come on, seriously? I don't own this series, though, which means that I can't answer that question._

**Chapter 13: Crash**

The return to Grimmauld was done with little fanfare. Hermione, not saying a word, simply levitated Harry's body onto one of the beds and covered it with a sheet respectfully. She gently waved off Madame Pomphrey's attempts to look at her ribs, asking her to look after the others first.

"I still have one more thing to do…" The brunette murmured as she carefully limped to the cellar, Fleur supporting her the whole way. They both descended the stairs and looked at the wretched snake that lay in its stasis-bubble. Holding each other's hands for support, they raised their wands and killed the beast. The loud, hoarse scream of the Horcrux permeated the room as it died.

It was over. Voldemort was no more. They had won.

'_Then why am I not happy? Or even relieved?_' Hermione wondered as they climbed back up the steps. She looked down at her hand. '_Huh…I didn't notice I'd used Voldemort's wand…_'

* * *

The next few weeks mostly consisted of clean-up. With Voldemort and his Inner Circle gone, the Death Eaters and their supporters were running around in confusion. Without a figurehead to spearhead and direct their campaign, they were unable to coordinate their efforts and quickly lost their foothold in the Ministry and other political venues.

After a long night of grieving and discussion, everyone was still arguing about what to tell the public about Voldemort's defeat. Hermione didn't want the attention of being his true killer, and argued that it would be easier for the more weak-minded people of the Wizarding world to accept a half-blood fulfilling a "prophecy" that a mudblood killing the "most feared Dark Lord of all time". Others argued that a muggleborn killing Voldemort could be used to drag Britain into an age of acceptance of people without "pure" blood. Hermione had no interest in helping Britain anymore, however. The debate went long into the night.

"Tell the damn sheep whatever you want." Hermione finally growled in frustration, standing up from the table. "But know that I will not be your poster girl for change. This cesspool of a society isn't interested in changing its ways, and making me into a hero is only going to fuel the panic that 'mudbloods' are taking over Britain."

"Hermione, think about it," Neville implored, "if we told them the truth then they'll-"

"They could do anything." Fleur stated calmly but firmly, holding Hermione's hand in a comforting gesture. "They could celebrate Hermione as the slayer of the Dark Lord, or they could throw her into Azkaban on some trumped-up charge out of fear of her political power. If Hermione doesn't want the publicity of destroying Riddle, then I say we respect her wishes on the matter."

The steely look in the Veela's eye was enough to convince the Order that maybe it was best to leave it alone. As the couple retreated upstairs, the Order finally agreed to just tell everyone that Harry and Riddle had destroyed each other.

* * *

While the auror members of the Order were hard at work assisting with the clean-up, the rest of the vigilante group agreed to stay in Grimmauld until it was safe. Hermione had spent that time alternating between consoling/grieving with her friends and Fleur and studying the final battle. She still hadn't been able to shake the feeling that she had missed something…

"Sweetheart, you've been watching that battle for hours." Fleur admonished gently as she entered the otherwise empty library. "If there was something there to see, you would have seen it by now."

"But I'm missing something, Fleur, I know it!" Hermione growled in frustration, an emotion she seemed to be experiencing a lot lately. "It's something about this wand. Riddle called it the Elder wand. That sounds so familiar…And it's unlike any wand I've ever held before."

Fleur cast a Featherlight Charm on the brunette and picked her up, sitting down with her in her lap and gently stroking her back. "What do you mean, baby?"

Hermione closed her eyes, pausing to purr softly and relish in the feel of her lover's body. "When I cast spells with it, it's like the wand has a mind of its own. It seems to know what I want it to do, and it just adds to my own magic while it pulls mine out of my core. But, it's like whatever it pulls out, it just adds it back afterwards. I feel like I could cast spells for days with this wand."

Fleur's brow furrowed in thought. "I've never heard of a wand that did things like that."

"I haven't either. It just feels…unbeatable." Hermione looked down at the black, twisted wand in her hand.

The door opened, and Minerva entered, nodding towards the two and sitting in a nearby chair.

"Professor." Hermione acknowledged, never moving from Fleur's lap. "I haven't seen you in the last few days. Where've you been?"

"I've been coordinating with the other professors. We've decided to meet in February to discuss plans to re-open the school." The older witch explained, relaxing into the comfortable chair, acting as though seeing her student in another woman's lap was the most normal thing in the world.

"How's Madame Hooch?" Hermione queried with a knowing look. Minerva smiled a tired but happy smile in response.

"She's ready to come back home. I thought she was going to kill me when I asked her to leave Britain until the war was over, but I couldn't risk seeing her in danger." She sighed wistfully. "However, I find myself regretting this decision. I miss her dearly."

"Well, you'll be together again soon." Fleur reassured, rubbing the brunette's back.

"Indeed. Hermione, have you thought about returning to Hogwarts?" Minerva queried gently.

"I have." Was the terse response. All three sat in silence as Minerva waited for her student to elaborate.

"…And?"

"I stand by what I said before, Professor. I'm leaving Britain as soon as everything is calm." Hermione stated firmly.

"But your NEWTS-"

"I helped bring down Riddle. I think I'll be fine when it comes to getting a job." The brunette pointed out. "If it turns out that I really need my NEWTS, then I'll find somewhere else to take them."

"Then what about a teaching position? We could use a new Defense professor." Minerva implored.

"I'm sorry, Professor, but the answer is still no." The brunette replied. Minerva wisely chose not to press the issue any further. Not while emotions were still high.

Hermione's head rested on Fleur's shoulder as the trio sat in a comfortable silence. Minerva looked at the two wistfully, missing her own lover dearly. She smiled a bit, wondering if they looked as blissful in each other's arms as the two before her. Her eyes drifted down to the muggleborn's hand.

"Hermione, why do you have Albus's wand?" Minerva asked, a bit alarmed. Had the trio been grave-robbing in their travels?!

"What?" Hermione followed the Scottish woman's gaze. "Oh! No, this was Riddle's wand. I pulled it off of him after the battle. Not sure why, though…"

"Hermione, listen to me," Minerva said very seriously, "I've seen that wand every day for almost fifty years. That's Albus Dumbledore's wand!"

Hermione sat up in Fleur's lap and stared at the wand. If this wand was Dumbledore's, then…

"Merlin's pants!" Hermione jumped up, kissing Fleur's lips hastily before running out of the library. Fleur sat in silent surprise with an equally shocked Minerva.

"…Merlin's pants?"

* * *

Hermione stormed into the bedroom, ripping her shirt off and flinging it into the corner. Fleur looked up from where she was propped up, reading her book.

"…Well, I like where this is going…" The blond muttered, closing her book and setting it aside.

"That fucking MORON!" Hermione growled, casting a quick silencing charm around the room. "I don't know what the hell he was thinking! He was a complete idiot, and I honestly don't know what's keeping me from marching straight to that asshole's grave and pissing on it!"

"Okay…I hope you know that statement could apply to many people in the Wizarding World?" Fleur replied with a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips. It was nice to see Hermione so animated again.

"Fucking Dumbledore!" The brunette said, pushing a chair over in frustration. Fleur quirked an eyebrow in response.

"…You want to pick that back up, sweetie?" The blond said in a serious tone.

"It can stay right there! I've had enough of fucking manipulations, and old farts running other people's goddamn lives! That goddamn asshole and his damn plans!"

"Hermione." Fleur's voice turned steely, stopping the muggleborn in her tracks. "Pick. Up. That. Chair."

Hermione froze, hearing the unspoken threat in Fleur's voice. She looked at her lover and saw the dominating look in her blue eyes. She swallowed hard. She knew that the two of them had been skirting the edges of a relationship unlike any the brunette had ever experienced, and right now she was staring that relationship dead on, trying to decide whether to jump into it or chicken out. If she obeyed Fleur now, what was she opening herself up to in the future? She'd always made her own decisions and even others' decisions all of her life. She'd always told herself that she would never be a doormat for anyone else. She'd never let someone else run her life. She'd never allow another person to make her decisions for her.

But now, looking into Fleur's eyes, she was beginning to question those ideas and beliefs she'd held for so long. Giving control over to someone else was such a terrifying prospect. But at the same time, it was so exciting to think about. And what she saw in Fleur's eyes was not what she expected. She expected someone like Fleur, someone who liked to dominate and control, to be harsh and combative. She expected someone like Fleur to be a conqueror, always taking and pillaging whatever they wanted. But she didn't see any of those harsh ideals in Fleur's eyes. Oh, she saw the desire to dominate, but she saw something else. A desire to love, to care, to protect.

And as she picked up the chair and put it back, she saw a look of relief on the Veela's face. Hermione started in surprise. Maybe Fleur had been thinking all the things that she had in that moment. She felt the tension leave her body. Maybe having someone else in charge wouldn't be such a bad thing after all. At least, as long as that someone was Fleur.

"Good girl." Fleur whispered, making Hermione shiver in pure joy at how those two little words made her feel. The blond patted the space beside of her. "Now, come here and tell me what happened."

Now down to her bra and panties, Hermione crossed the room and crawled into bed, snuggling into Fleur's embrace.

"I spoke to Luna's father when I left the library. When Minerva mentioned that the wand was Dumbledore's, I remembered the book he'd left me. It had a symbol in it that I'd seen before, on Mr. Lovegood's necklace. I asked him about the symbol, and he told me about the Deathly Hallows."

Over the next hour, Hermione told Fleur the story of the three brothers, and the items that they had received from Death himself. She then started to explain her theory about the wand.

"I think that this wand, the one I pulled off Riddle's body, is the Elder Wand." She explained, looking at the wand with an unreadable expression.

"But, if the wand's unbeatable, then how were you able to kill Riddle?" Fleur asked, rubbing Hermione's back, causing the brunette to purr softly.

"Because Riddle was never the master of the Elder Wand." Hermione explained. "He thought that if he simply took the wand from Dumbledore's grave, he'd become the master, but it doesn't work like that. The wand transfers ownership based on who defeats or kills the previous master. I had to look at Harry's memory of Dumbledore's death to realize who was the real master: Draco Malfoy. He disarmed Dumbledore, transferring ownership to him…"

"…And then you killed Draco." Fleur whispered in realization.

"Yeah. I've been the master of the Elder Wand since August. That's how I was able to kill Riddle. The wand won't work against its true master." Hermione said, leaning into Fleur's side more firmly, needing the comfort the Veela offered.

"Merlin…" Fleur muttered, feeling so tired from this crazy puzzle.

"That's not all." Hermione whispered. "I think that Harry's invisibility cloak is the same one from the story. And the Resurrection Stone, I'm starting to think that it may be hidden in the snitch that Dumbledore left Harry. I think that his plan was for Harry to unite the Hallows and become the Master of Death. I think his theory was that if Harry was the Master of Death, then killing him to remove the Horcrux would not cause Harry to die for good. If Harry had been the master of the Elder Wand a few weeks ago, then he would still be here now."

"But, I don't understand." Fleur said, her brow furrowed. "If Draco, the son of our enemy's most trusted lieutenant, was the master of the Elder Wand, then how did Dumbledore expect Harry to get control over the wand?"

"I have no idea. I thought about asking his portrait just what the hell he was thinking, but I'm honestly worried that if I did, I'd end up blasting that fucking thing to shreds. I can't believe that I ever looked up to that man. I thought he was so eccentric and wise, but he was just an old man who thought life functioned like a chess game: with clear rules and boundaries in place at all times. I feel like such a fool for following him so obediently."

"We all followed him, Hermione." Fleur reassured her love. "Everyone believed in him, and we all forgot that he was still just an old man with faults like every other human being."

"…I don't want to be here, anymore." Hermione sniffled into Fleur's shoulder. "I just want to leave Britain. I don't care where we go, but can we please just leave this God-forsaken place?"

Fleur's arms tightened around the smaller witch in a protective hug. "Okay, sweetheart, let's leave. We'll go somewhere else, and we won't ever come back unless you want to."

Hermione looked up at her with watery eyes. "Do you mean it? We can leave?"

"I mean it, sweetheart. How do you feel about going to France? I have a lovely cottage in the countryside where we can stay…"


	14. Chapter 14: Running Away

_AN: Sorry this chapter took so long to post. I'm currently between jobs; which means that until I get my new job in a cubicle, I'm cleaning out rental homes in the hot sun for a few weeks. Human beings are some of the most disgusting and vile creatures to ever invade the earth, let me tell you…__And once I finally found some time between that and family drama to sit down and write…I had no idea what to write! Interesting how once I get to the very thing I started this story to write, I completely lose my shit and can't think straight! *Sigh* I guess writing's just tough when you don't have an insane megalomaniac to kill._

_AN(2): I know that in this chapter, it's going to seem like Hermione totally forgot about Harry dying, but please just bear with me. This chapter is kinda more of a set up for the upcoming chapters, which will focus solely on Hermione and Fleur emotionally. Not just their relationship, but also the aftereffects of war and losing loved ones. Believe me, Hermione's got a TON of issues that we're going to have to work through! Guess that's what I get for pretty much torturing her for thirteen chapters…Oh well, no one wants to read "happily ever after", anyway! We just want to read the characters' journey to that point!_

_DISCLAIMER: Okay, clearly Gringotts's "vaunted protections" aren't as good as we've been led to believe. Worry not, dear people of Wizarding Britain! Because your money is being carefully and fiercely protected by a race of bloodthirsty warriors who hate your guts! More importantly, that race of bloodthirsty warriors can easily be _Imperious_ed by three teenagers who literally have absolutely NO training in how that curse works! Seriously, three teens think to try that, but the guy who tried to break in seven years earlier, and who pretty much throws that curse around like candy, doesn't? Don't you just feel so very safe? Not me, because I don't own these books…_

**Chapter 14: Running Away**

Hermione floated the shrunken trunks and bags up the wooden staircase into her and Fleur's new room. It had taken three more weeks for things to finally settle down and for Fleur to get her hands on a portkey to her little cottage in France, but it had been well worth the wait. With a wave of her wand and a thought, all of the clothes and items were put away, and the trunks were whisked into the attic for storage.

'_I love magic._' She thought with a small grin as she headed back downstairs, where Fleur was dusting the little kitchen off. She absentmindedly waved her wand at the living room, cleaning out the dirt and dust and setting a cozy fire in the fireplace. Her tasks complete, she sat at the bar separating the kitchen from the living room and watched as Fleur bustled about, putting the food in the pantry and cupboards and clearing out any dust and other signs of neglect.

Hermione didn't mind the dust and cobwebs. After all, the cabin had been sitting empty since before the war, and Fleur had been thoughtful enough not to send any of the Delacour house elves to clean the place up before they got there. It was an action that truly touched Hermione. The blond knew how uncomfortable her lover was with owning house elves, and instead of trying to lecture her about "they don't know any different", or "they like cleaning and cooking", Fleur had simply stated that as long as the concept bothered Hermione, she would not employ any house elves in their home. Of course, Hermione understood that Fleur couldn't tell the rest of her family and friends how to run their own households, but the action touched her nonetheless. The brunette put house elves out of her mind for now. She was tired of saving the world, and was ready to just be selfish for a while.

Fleur finished up with the kitchen and glided over to Hermione, leaning against the bar and taking her hands.

"Well, do you like it? Is it big enough?" The blond asked with a hint of nervousness in her voice that almost made Hermione giggle.

"It's perfect, baby. It reminds me of you: warm and elegant." The Muggleborn replied whole-heartedly. A hint of crimson colored the Veela's cheeks, making Hermione smile in response.

"Would you like to walk around the grounds?" Fleur asked.

"That sounds lovely, Fleur."

* * *

"Careful, Hermione. That shed's in a bad state right now." Fleur gently admonished as she pulled the brunette away from the rickety structure.

"Sorry." Came the bashful reply as Hermione snuggled back into Fleur's side, pulling her coat tighter against the chill that not even warming charms seemed to be capable of warding off.

"It's alright. I should have warned you. The previous owners built the shed to hold their gardening tools, and I've never really had much use for it with magic and all. I guess I just never got around to getting rid of it." Fleur mused.

"Don't?" Hermione asked hopefully, looking up at Fleur with those big brown eyes.

"Why not?" Fleur asked, confused.

"I think I'd like to fix it up." Hermione admitted. "To, you know, work in. I could make my Runestones in there, or just fiddle around with different hobbies."

Fleur smiled, knowing that a busy Hermione was a happy Hermione. "All right, then. But promise me that you won't work on the shed unless I'm here with you? The place is rotted badly, and I don't want you to get hurt and me not be around to help."

"I don't need a babysitter, Fleur." Hermione groused good-naturedly.

"No, but it wouldn't bode well for my old heart to know that you were messing around with this old place with no one else around." The blond sighed dramatically.

"Oh, don't be a drama queen, Fleur! You're only three years older than me!" Hermione poked her side, giggling.

"And I just know I'll feel every single one of those years if you work on that shed without me around!" Fleur wailed in an overly-dramatic way, clinging to the laughing smaller woman.

"Alright, alright! I won't mess with the shed if you're not here. I promise." Hermione agreed with a smile, her heart feeling lighter at her lover's actions.

"Oh, thank you, darling! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" The Veela exclaimed happily, jumping up and down and grabbing the other woman's coat in an overly-dramatic way. The brunette couldn't contain her giggles at the sight.

"Okay, great, we're both happy! Now stop pulling at my coat or you're gonna-ACK!" Hermione was cut off by the force of one especially-strong pull, which dragged her to the ground and caused her to end up pinned beneath the giggling French witch. The English witch sighed in amusement and allowed her head to lower onto the ground, cushioned by her bushy hair.

"Well, hello, beautiful!" Fleur giggled, causing Hermione to blush crimson.

"Hey, gorgeous." The pinned witch replied wryly. "Plan on staying a while?"

"But of course! It's so comfy and warm, and I love the company." The blond replied, nuzzling her lover's neck and causing a pleasant sensation to zip through the younger woman's body. A soft purr rumbled in the back of Hermione's throat. She could get used to this.

"Mmmmmmmm…Fleur…" The blond looked up with a sly smile.

"Yes, Hermione?"

"I need to tell you something…" The brunette murmured softly, her eyes lidded with pleasure. Fleur licked her lips at the sight and leaned in closer.

"And what's that?" She asked, moving closer so that their lips were mere inches apart.

"…Your nose is cold." With a deft flick of her wand, Hermione sent the now-shrieking witch flying backwards a few feet, where she landed on a strategically-placed Cushioning Charm. The brunette cackled as she jumped up and took off back to the little cottage.

"Why, you little minx! Come back here!" Fleur called, chasing after the smaller witch. The two ran back up the hill to the little house, the leaves crunching beneath their trainers and their laughter being carried away by the wind.

* * *

"Hermione?" Fleur asked as the two witches cuddled on the couch, warming themselves by the fire.

"Hmm?" Came the sleepy reply from the curled-up brunette.

"I've been thinking about us." Hermione's groggy eyes looked up seriously at the blonde's statement.

"I hope you realize how horrifying that sentence sounds?" The younger witch asked, only half-jokingly.

"That's not what I meant, silly!" Fleur giggled, lightly slapping Hermione's shoulder in admonishment. "I meant about setting, you know, some rules."

"Rules? About what?" Hermione asked, genuinely confused.

"You know…" The blonde replied, a telling look in her eyes. The Muggleborn's eyes widened in realization.

"Oh! You mean…oh…" The brunette's face flared and hid in Fleur's chest.

"Yes, I mean 'oh'." Fleur laughed lightly, watching Hermione's shoulders shake in response.

"Um, okay." The brunette replied, pulling her flaming yet smiling face out of the blonde's bosom. "So, uh…what, um, what kind of rules were you…uh…thinking about?"

"Well, how about we start slow? We'll set a few ground rules and see how we feel about them after, say, a week or two?" Fleur offered.

"Sure, that sounds like a good idea." A now-awake Hermione replied, sitting up. "So, how do we start this?"

"Well, what boundary do you want to set for me?" The brunette blinked.

Pause.

She blinked again.

"W-wait, I thought this was you setting rules for me?" She asked, confused. Fleur smiled gently in response.

"No, sweetheart, you need to set your boundaries, too. Just because I'm the Dom in this relationship, doesn't mean that I don't have to follow the rules, too. If there's something that makes you uncomfortable, or hurts your feelings, then I want to know it so that I don't damage your trust in me. Trust is vital in any relationship, but even more so in one such as ours." The blond explained patiently.

"Okay…well, then, I guess my first rule would be…ummmmm…" Hermione's lips disappeared into her mouth, and it was all Fleur could do to fight the urge to kiss and nibble it back out. "No breath play or blood play."

Now it was Fleur's turn to blink in silence.

"…I won't lie, sweetheart, I thought your rules would be more along the lines of how unclothed you were willing to be during the day…" The blond admitted, causing her lover's face to erupt in an even fiercer blush.

"Sorry, I guess that was pretty dumb…" Hermione admitted.

"No, no, sweetie, that's not it at all!" Fleur quickly reassured. "If that's a rule you want to set right now, then there's nothing wrong with that. I'm glad you were willing to share that with me, because now it's something that I know." She kissed Hermione's reddening nose. "Your feelings are important to me, Hermione. I'll never call your opinions dumb or purposely belittle them."

"Thank you, Fleur." The brunette whispered, cuddling up to the blonde's side. "So, um, what's your first rule?" Fleur giggled in response.

"Well, I won't lie to you, dear. I've been wanting to see you with kitten ears for well over a month, now…" Hermione 'eep'ed adorably in response to that request.

"Is…is that even possible?" She asked, her brown furrowing as she tried to recall any spells that could do that.

"Of course, sweetheart! I've learned a trick or two in my time at Beauxbaton's." Fleur assured as she pulled her wand, careful to make her movements deliberate so as not to startle the war veteran. "May I?"

"Um, sure. Yeah, why not?" Hermione swallowed a bit as she watched Fleur elegantly raise her wand. After a muttered spell, she felt a strange tingling sensation along the sides and top of her head. She reached up to where her ears were…not!

"My…my ears!" She exclaimed, feeling only the skin of her neck and jawline. Fleur giggled and quickly conjured up a small mirror, holding it up to the brunette. Again, Hermione 'eep'ed as she saw that she now had a pair of brown, furry kitten ears on top of her head.

"Awwww, they're even cuter than I thought they'd be!" Fleur smiled, reaching out to run a slender finger along one ear, which twitched in response.

It was such a strange feeling, Hermione realized as she watched her ears flicker in the reflection of the little mirror. It was almost like a minor muscle spasm in her ears, but it tickled a bit and didn't hurt at all. Her ears also felt warmer, likely due to the newly-acquired fur covering them. Other than that, she didn't feel any different. Her balance was still the same, and her hearing hadn't seemed to change. Then again, her incident with the Polyjuice Potion in second year had already granted her slightly enhanced hearing, so it was possible that such Transfiguration could have an effect on normal ears.

"Well, do you like them?" Fleur asked, a hopeful and slightly nervous tone in her voice. Hermione smiled at her lover and hugged her tightly.

"I do. They don't feel as weird as I thought they would." She admitted. "It's almost like…well…"

"Like they were there all along?" Fleur asked, receiving a shy nod in response. "So, this kitten thing's not so bad after all, is it?"

"No, I guess not." She smiled, laying her head on the pale shoulder before her. "My turn?"

"Of course, dear kitten." The blonde replied, kissing Hermione's new ears and giggling as they flickered in response.

"Ummmm…is it okay if we keep this aspect of our relationship private? I'm not ashamed of you or us, I just…well…" Hermione stuttered lamely before the blond mercifully responded.

"You worry that they won't understand, and would treat you differently if they knew?" Fleur asked, getting a silent nod in response. "That's fine, baby. We'll keep this private for as long as you want. If you want to tell anyone about what we do behind closed doors, then that's completely up to you. I won't pressure you one way or the other."

"Thank you, Fleur." Hermione whispered sincerely. "So, your turn."

"Well, you've got the ears," the Veela began, twirling her wand idly "maybe you'd be okay with one more little…attachment?"

"Um, okay. What is it?" Hermione sat back up, giving the taller woman room to work.

"Do you trust me, Hermione?" Fleur asked seriously, looking into the chocolate eyes before her.

Hermione swallowed and nodded in response, never doubting her answer for a second. Fleur smiled and waved her wand. Hermione felt a strange pressure against her pants.

"What is…" Hermione trailed off as she stood and tried to crane her neck back to see what was happening. Fleur giggled and gently grabbed Hermione's jeans, carefully inching them down a bit. Suddenly, a fluffy brown tail poked out of the base of the Muggleborn's spine and swished back and forth, stretching out and working out any kinks in the muscles.

"Oh my God, Fleur! I have a tail!"

* * *

_Reviews are awesome! They're delicious, nutritious, and even stay crunchy in milk!_


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